This can be difficult to enforce and emotionally challenging, but it is important that parents remain firm and consistent. If your child is routinely waking in the night, they should be returned to bed with minimal parental attention. Children need to overcome this worry as a step towards becoming more independent sleepers. Children wake at night partly because they’re worried about being separated from their parents. It is important that babies learn to go to sleep in their cot by themselves at the start of the night, so they are more able to self-soothe themselves back to sleep. Caffeine is best avoided in children and certainly should be avoided after midday to avoid interfering with sleep. Caffeine is present in tea, coffee, chocolate, energy drinks and some soft drinks. Caffeine is a stimulant that prevents sleep. Children who are inactive through the day and/or are not exposed to natural sunlight, particularly early in the morning, may have difficulty falling asleep at night. The bedroom should be used for sleep only and not study or play if possible.ĭaytime exercise and natural light exposure may improve sleep at night. If background sound is required, soothing, gentle music is preferred. If a night light is required, a red light is preferred. Electronic devices should remain out of the bedroom where possible.Įnsure the sleeping environment is quiet, dark and comfortable. Exposure to bright light or the LED light from electronic devices can reduce the evening levels of the sleep promoting hormone, melatonin, making it more difficult to fall asleep.
Limit access to electronic devices (including TV, smart-phones, tablets and computer games) and bright light exposure in the one to two hours prior to bedtime. Avoid exercise or stimulating play in the hour before bedtime. It may include reading quietly, a warm bath or a warm milk drink. This will help your child settle and prepare for sleep.
The 24-hour body clock that controls sleepiness and wakefulness works best if there is a regular sleep routine. These times should be the same or similar on weekends and holidays. Your child should keep regular times for going to bed and waking up. Consistent daytime naps after five years of age are not normal.
It is normal for children to have a daytime nap until three to five years of age. Morning naps usually stop between 12 and 18 months. From two months to 12 months, the number of daytime naps reduces typically from three to four naps, down to two naps. From about six months, babies have their longest sleeps at night and can typically sleep for a period of up to six hours or more at night. This rhythm favours sleep at night and being more awake in the day. From about two months onwards, babies start to sleep for longer periods, particularly at night, as they start to develop their internal day/night (circadian) rhythm. Nappingįrom birth to two months of age, the length of one period of sleep can vary from 30 minutes to three to four hours.
Children with a development disorder may need an amount of sleep appropriate for their developmental age rather than their actual age. It is important to remember that these figures are a guide only and that each child will have their own individual sleep requirement. Infants from birth to three months of age have a wide variation in sleep duration and patterns infants in this age group generally sleep 14 to 17 hours daily (including naps).
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