Sleep Training

1. Buy a comfortable bed

First of all, if you want to have a good sleep quality, you must have a comfortable bed, which is very important, because the condition of the bed affects the feeling of sleep.

 

2. Limit your daytime sleep

In the daytime, it is best not to sleep often, in addition to some old people can take appropriate naps, do not have a lot of time for sleep, or it will affect the sleep at night.

 

3. Don’t drink coffee after 2 p.m

Many people will have the habit of drinking coffee, especially some office workers, when a little tired, will drink coffee, but coffee in the body of the continuous repair time is very long, will affect the situation of sleep at night.

 

4. Stop exercising 4 hours before bedtime

Exercise is good for sleep. But it’s best not to exercise within four hours of going to bed, or it will excite the body and make it difficult to fall asleep.

 

5. Take a hot bath before bed.

Take a hot bath 60 to 75 minutes before going to bed. The water temperature should not be lower than 38 degrees Celsius. The bath time should not be less than 20 minutes. Hot baths help relax your muscles and raise your body’s core temperature, which gradually drops as you leave the tub. Your brain’s melatonin production increases, making you feel tired and more likely to fall asleep.

 

6. Lower the room temperature.

The experiment proved that when the bedroom room temperature is 18-24 degrees Celsius, the bed temperature is 27-30 degrees, the sleep quality is best.

 

7. Pay attention to bedroom lighting.

Bedroom lamplight has the action that regulates biological clock. Too much light can cause the brain to produce less melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep when you’re too awake. Dark and soft reading light is the best choice before going to bed. During sleep, it is best to turn off all light sources.

5 Ways To Help You Sleep Well During The COVID-19 Pandemic

With everyone’s routines disrupted, it’s important to make changes so that you and your family are still functioning as optimally as possible. When you make sleep a priority, you’ll be able to build a healthy family routine, support your immune system and help everyone feel as good as they can in these times of uncertainty.

Keep in mind that prioritizing sleep should be the goal for everyone in the family. As much as its parents that are feeling the heaviest weight of this situation, don’t discount how much children, even babies, are also feeling anxious and unsettled, even if they don’t know why or don’t know how to express it.

To help, we’ve compiled some helpful tips and advice on how to sleep well while managing life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 – Audit your sleep spaces.

Not surprisingly, people have been posting that with all this time at home they’ve gotten a jump on their spring cleaning. It’s always a good idea to get your home organized, since that’s been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, but we want to make sure the bedrooms in your house have been part of the spring cleaning too.

In order to set your family up for sleep success, clear out any clutter in the bedrooms. While we know people can feel like they are pressed for space with everyone spending so much time at home, it’s important to try and keep your bedroom as a space that supports good sleep as much as possible.

If your kid’s bedrooms have become play spaces out of necessity, make sure you provide them with adequate bins to be able to clean up and put things away at night. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but by including nightly bedroom clean up as part of your routine, it will be easier for them to drift off to sleep in a space that is calm and organized.

2 – Maintain a structured sleep schedule.

In addition to your sleep space, it’s also important to keep your family on a healthy sleep schedule. It can be so tempting to let the rules go out the window during this time, but if you let things go off the rails, you’ll certainly start to see some negative repercussions.

If possible, bedtimes and wake times should remain the same on a daily basis. Babies right through to adults thrive on routine, so not only will this help everyone get the sleep they need, but it will also set the stage for a positive day that will help everyone be more successful.

Not too convinced? Remember, we do support the 80/20 ruleso there’s certainly still time for those special family movie nights that can be a needed source of joy right now.

3 – Step away from the screens.

This one can feel tough, we get it. Both kids and adults are likely having more screen time than usual thanks to no school, working from home, and a news cycle that is constantly updating. While it can feel empowering to feel informed, it’s exhausting too. And if we’re being honest, a lot of the news coming at us is scary and unsettling. It’s hard not to carry this around with us all day, even into bedtime.

Not only do we still recommend that all screens go off an hour before bedtime to support the production of melatonin, (read about how to make a family docking station) but we also recommend instituting more breaks throughout the day where social media, news, video games and just about anything else gets turned off. Too much daytime screen time can fuel anxiety and effect the ability for our brains to relax and slow down enough to feel tired.

Read About How To Help Your Child Overcome Fears And Worries At Bedtime

When it comes to teens specifically, we know that online is the only way for them to currently get that important peer to peer time. However, be mindful of how much social media can be a significant sleep disrupter and make a point to talk to them about why limits are important. More specifically, teens should not go into their rooms at night with their phones – this is where a docking station really comes in handy.

Read More About The Top 6 Factors Affecting Teen Sleep

4 – Stay active.

Staying active supports good mental health, is a smart way to pass some time and helps build your sleep drive. In addition, many children need that physical activity to help release anxiety and pent up energy that support better sleep at night.

While we fully support abiding by the recommended rules to avoid all public spaces and playgrounds, going for walks as a family is something that should be included in your daily routine. Taking a walk around the neighbourhood makes it easy to practice social distancing while still getting fresh air and exercise.

Thankfully, there are also plenty of other online free workout tools available. We recommend Cosmic Kids Yogaon YouTube for kids and Fitness Blenderfor workouts the whole family can do. If you usually go to a local fitness studio, be sure to check their website or Facebook page as many are offering online sessions as well. You can also keep it super simple and throw on some music for a family dance party!

5 – Build in time for mindfulness.

Mindfulness can be a powerful tool when trying to stop a negative sleep cycle. It’s also a great thing to incorporate before you get to the point of dealing with insomnia or difficulty falling asleep. Keep an open mind and encourage everyone in your family to practice mindfulness as a way to calm down, de-stress and be ready for sleep.

Take a look at the following resources:

8 Podcasts To Help You Sleep Better

How To Meditate To Sleep Better

Meditation For Children

Relaxing Yoga Poses To Help You Fall Asleep

Breathing Techniques To Help You Fall Asleep

Sleep – It’s Here To Get You Through

It has long been said that a good night’s sleep can make you feel better. Not only can it give your overall health a boost, but it also goes a long way in helping you have a bit more patience to manage life in this unprecedented time. And remember, it’s not just adults that need to focus on getting the sleep we need. Well rested kids can focus on tasks better (homeschooling, anyone?) and manage their emotions better too. All of these things support a happier home as we move forward and find ways to thrive in all the uncertainty.

Sleep And The Toddler Years

There are some sleep challenges that can pop up at any age and any stage. However, the toddler years are unique and challenging for so many reasons, and these special circumstances tend to spill over into the sleep sphere as well.  If you’re already firmly in the toddler trenches or are approaching this stage with your little one, keep reading to find out more about the five top sleep issues you may face in this distinctive stage.

1 – Not Staying in Bed.

Moving your toddler out of their crib and into a big kid bed will rarely solve your sleep issues. In fact, moving them too early can even make things worse. However, when your toddler does move to a big bed, be prepared for them to marvel at their new found freedom and for them to test the limits when it comes to getting out of bed.

To deal with their new freedom and mobility, you need to be persistent and consistent. A very effective method for dealing with this behaviour is called the silent return. Every time your child gets up, calmly return them to bed. There is no need to speak to them or engage, just guide them back to bed. If you show no reaction, the less likely they’ll be to repeat the behavior. But remember, be persistent, in some cases you may have to do this many, many times before they get the message.

Read More Tips On How To Get Your Toddler To Stay In Bed

2 – Nap Changes and Challenges.

The toddler years are full of developmental milestones and transitions. When it comes to sleep, your toddler will transition from two naps to one (typically around 15-18 months of age), and eventually give up napping altogether by the time they are 4 years old. These transitions can take quite a toll, and in the process of sorting things out, you can count on short, late, or skipped naps which leads to an overtired child and bedtime drama.

Start by recognizing that it may be time for a change and adjust accordingly until things even out. This may mean having an earlier bedtime for a while, moving up that afternoon nap time or planning your days to have some afternoon quiet time to get through those overtired afternoons.

3 – Stalling.

Toddlers are never thirstier than at bedtime, right? From needing just one more drink, to a fifth trip to the bathroom or the need to say goodnight to everyone one of their stuffed animals, toddlers can stall like it’s their job! To deal with nightly stalling, learn more about our bedtime pass or setting up a bedtime routine chart. Now is also a good time to set limits around bedtime which can help your child understand that they are expected to follow the bedtime rules and routine.

4 – Afraid of the dark.

You’ve surely noticed the wonderful imagination your toddler has sprouted as they’ve grown. Their big ideas are great for play, but can bring about worries and fears at bedtime making it harder to go to sleep. The most popular cause for concern is a new fear relating to the dark.

Read more about using a night light with your toddler – how it can help and what you need to know.

5 – Early rising.

It may be their changing sleep needs or their new found excitement about the world around them, but toddlers can often start waking early. To start, do an audit of their room and make sure it stays dark, especially in those early morning hours. In addition, early morning sounds like birds chirping can also cause them to wake. Make sure the windows are nice and dark keeping out early morning light, and try using a sound machine to drown out those birds! This can also be a great time to introduce a toddler clock.

Attached Babies Learning Self-Soothing

Your baby will start to learn that mom is there when I NEED her. When you leave them to work things out on their own and self-soothe, they will build on this independence all their lives.

The amount of intervention that our kids actually need from us is way lower than we give to them sometimes.

Attachment is founded on the millions of interactions we have with our kids every day, not just one or two events. 

Being in tune with what your child needs is interconnected with their ability to self-soothe and work things out. If you know your child can do those things and yet, they’re still crying or not acting “normal”, you can immediately tell something is wrong.

Keep Your Role As a Parent in Mind

It’s so important to remember that it’s not our duty as parents to prevent our children from experiencing discomfort. Our job is to:

1. Keep them in a loving and safe environment
2. Meet their needs
3. Help them learn that they can rely on themselves

 

When you implement these important job duties, sleep training your child can run a lot smoother.

How to Sleep Train a Baby

 

Now that we have an understanding of what healthy attachment looks like, let’s dive into how to use healthy attachment to sleep train your baby.

The most important aspect to remember during this whole experience and what I will constantly tell other mamas is: overtired babies protest more.

Christine Lawler, The Peaceful Sleeper

Keeping your baby from getting overtired is key through this whole process. To do this, you don’t want to go more than 90 minutes of an awake time stretch. Don’t overstimulate baby during their awake times because this will also make the baby overtired.

The Golden Rule: Bedtimes and Feedings

By 4 months old, a baby is looking for structure in their daily routine. This is the optimal time to start.

We also want to start making bedtimes nice and early and feeding your babies when they are hungry, not just to help them fall asleep. You are the best at knowing what your baby needs, and if you don’t want to let them cry it out, you don’t have to! Do whatever feels right for you and your baby.

Why Is My Baby Crying?

Helping your kids learn how to sleep independently will help you know if they are crying because they are hungry, wet, hurting, or just being fussy. You can help them learn to clearly communicate their needs by getting them on a predictable sleep schedule and being in tune with their needs.

A Note About Naps For Babies

Overall, your nap schedule will change as your babies grow. In general, you want to keep them on a nap schedule until they’re about 2 ½ years old. In terms of when to stop swaddling, I recommend that you stop swaddling your baby when they can roll over on their own.

Looking for Sleepy Cues

Baby needs his first nap within one to two hours of waking up. The optimal time to put baby to sleep is before he starts acting tired.

We often think of cues like rubbing eyes and fussing as signaling tiredness, but those are actually signs of being over-tired.

The sleepy cues you want to look for are when baby starts to get quiet and slower. Eyes may drift, he’s less engaged, he yawns and his activity level has decreased.

If you can get baby to bed when this starts happening, he’ll drift off really easily. Babies struggle more when they’re over-tired. Their brains get wired and it’s harder for them to calm down and soothe to sleep.

Naps

4-9 Months

Between 4-9 months, baby needs 3 naps per day. (Don’t forget, that early awakening around 5 am is NOT baby’s time to wake up. It’s super normal for baby to have a wakeful period then, but just feed him and put him back to bed.)

• Wake up should be between 6:00 am and 8:00 am.
• First nap happens 1-2 hours after awakening. This is the first nap to develop predictably.
• Second nap is usually around noon
• Third nap is usually around 3pm
• Shoot for bedtime between 6 and 7pm.

9 Months

Around 9 months, the late afternoon nap disappears and the mid-day nap shifts slightly later.

If baby was taking nap #2 at noon, shift it to 1:30 or 2:00. Keep the first morning nap within 1-2 hours after awakening.

12+ Months

Baby will hold on to 2 naps a day until about 16 months, when he’ll drop the morning nap. You may have to shift nap time again, and move the single nap to 12 or 1:00.

Nap Rule of Thumbs

As a general rule, a nap that lasts less than 45 minutes is not enough unless it’s the third nap of the day.

Sometimes babies stir at the half-way point in their nap, so make it a general rule to leave baby in his crib for a few minutes if he wakes up after less than 45 minutes.

He’ll learn put himself back to sleep and eventually stop waking up at that 45 minute mark. If baby wakes up crying, that’s generally a sign that he’s not done sleeping.

Baby should wake up in a good mood, coo-ing and playing happily in his crib.

When to Nap

Try your best not to mess with sleep times, especially in the first few months. Don’t keep baby up later than you know he needs to be, or rely too much on baby getting his nap in the car.

Don’t count on baby being flexible with naps until about 12 months. At that time, when his sleep has been predictable he can handle going down an hour later, on occasion.

But in those early months if baby usually naps from 8:30 am-10:00 am and you don’t get him down until 9:30 am, he might only sleep for an hour. Or worse, he may just cry for 30 minutes and refuse to nap.

Sometimes if you mess with your sleep window you miss it.  He may make up a little of the time, but he probably won’t make up for all of it. Or he does get a full length nap but the subsequent naps and bedtime get thrown off. Not worth it.

Bedtime

Bedtime should be early.

Shoot for 6:00 pm-7:00 pm. My girls had a 6:00 bedtime until they were 9-12 months old. I know, it sounds so early. But an extra bonus is that you have a whole evening to spend with your spouse and keep your relationship alive.

Plus, you have plenty of time to relax, do self-care and get caught up on other chores. It’s hard if you work and baby has to go to bed as soon as you get home.

But his sleep is so important. He needs his sleep. (I know… he needs his mama too.) See if you can arrange an earlier work schedule with your boss. Maybe you can go in at 7:00 am or 8:00 am and come home earlier.

The other wrench that gets thrown in here is the weekend and your social life. 6:00 pm is awfully early to turn in on a Saturday night.

If nap times are a struggle, I have a crap nap guide that will help save the day.

I also have a guide that goes over the various sleep regression stages and how to overcome them when they come.

Happy sleeping!