Helping Your Child Sleep During Daylight Savings
Keeping a healthy bedtime rhythm can be difficult, especially with a young child. Everything from disruptions in the routine, the energy level of the day, and your little one’s mood can throw off the balance, leading to a fussy bedtime and difficulty sleeping, and schedule adjustments like “spring forward and fall back” are no exception. At 5 Little Monkeys, we have dedicated ourselves to studying the sleep needs of children, and designed the best kids mattress to improve the quality of their sleep and maximize the health benefits of healthy rest. Here are 5 tips to help your kid adjust to daylight savings this spring.
1) Keep a Consistent Morning Routine
The best way to reset a bedtime schedule is to make adjustments in the morning. If you are able to get your child up and at ‘em on the adjusted schedule, it’s more likely they will naturally align with the new bedtime hour when the time comes.
2) Plan a Wind Down Activity for the End of the Day
If your child is antsy due to longer daylight hours, you could try planning an activity for the end of the day that helps them wind down. Choose low energy, quiet, and absorbing activities such as reading a story, playing with paper dolls, or drawing. Avoid music, screens, and physical activity.
3) Consider Your Child’s Age
If your little one is becoming, well, not so little, daylight savings could be an opportunity to test drive a schedule adjustment. Maybe letting your child stay up a little later is not such a bad idea - the lost hour will make this change less dramatic. Sometimes intuitive sleep rhythm changes happen.
4) Invest in Blackout Curtains, Sunshine Lamps
If the differences in daylight are really a challenge, blackout curtains and sunshine lamps can be used to artificially create the conditions necessary for a controlled circadian rhythm. A lamp on a timer can help them wake in the morning, and drawing curtains helps block light at bedtime.
5) Good Sleep Hygiene Begins with the Right Mattress
Practicing general “good sleep hygiene” will help your child adapt to adjustments in his or her sleep schedule as they arise, by finding the right balance between consistency and flexibility. At the foundation of good sleep hygiene is a high quality mattress that is hypoallergenic, temperature-regulating, and built especially for growing bodies. The 5 Little Monkeys Sleep System sets this standard for children’s mattresses, and you can try it for 100 days risk free to see the difference it makes first-hand. If you have any questions about our products or your child’s sleep habits, contact us today!