It’s that time of year that, for little ones, is second only to Christmas: the summer holidays. Seemingly endless days without school may seem like a dream come true for your kids, but it’s your job to make sure routines don’t go completely out the window.

And this includes sleep. Without school to anchor down their sleep schedule, it’s all too easy for children to fall into bad habits during the summer holidays, including staying up late, sleeping in, napping during the day and constantly feeling tired. This can make it very difficult to get back into the swing of things once September rolls around.

With that in mind, here are our top tips for helping your kids stick to a sleep schedule this summer.

Make bedtime firm but fair

Don’t abandon bedtime altogether just because it’s the summer holidays. Instead, come up with a bedtime that’s perhaps more lenient than your kids’ term time sleep schedule, but still maintains a sense of order. This should be a bedtime that, on the whole, everyone is happy with, and once it’s been agreed, it must be stuck to.

Set your alarm clocks

Regularly sleeping in late is one of the main reasons kids’ sleep quality can suffer over the summer break. With no early morning commitments, it’s tempting to switch off the usual alarms and let every day start on a lazy note.

But when kids wake up later, they don’t sleep until late, which can wreak havoc with your bedtime agreement. Consider setting an alarm that’s slightly later than your usual term time wake up call.

Clear away distractions at bedtime

It’s no use sending your little ones upstairs at the agreed time when they’re crawling into bed with their iPad, or spending a few hours on a games console. While their days are free to be spent playing with their favourite toys and gadgets, bedtime should be free from distractions.

Remove any temptations from your little one’s bedroom as bedtime approaches, especially screens.

Wind down time

Getting ready for bed isn’t just a physical act, but a mental one too. It’s important to make sure your little ones are relaxed and ready to rest when their head hits the pillow, which is why scheduling in some designated wind down time is important.

This might be a relaxing bath, a bedtime story, or both! Engage your kids in relaxing activities in the hour before bed, dimming the lights and letting them know that it’s time to chill out.

Keep them active

While it’s important to wind your kids down during the evening, it’s equally important to keep them active during the day. Getting out and about is part of what the summer holidays are all about, and a dose of fresh air every day will ensure that your little ones are ready to be tucked in when bedtime rolls around.

Look ahead to September

The last thing your kids want to be reminded of is the impending return to school. But as parents, you know it’ll be here sooner than they think. As September approaches, start to gradually get your kids back into their usual term time routine by making bedtime a little earlier every night. While they may protest at first, it’s far better for them than being plunged into a new routine and spending the first week of school exhausted.

The best sleep happens on a high quality mattress, so check out the Perks range now. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.

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The phrase ‘sleep like a baby’ is often used to reflect a good night’s sleep, and for good reason. Parents do everything they can to ensure their children get a good night’s sleep, but when it comes to their own sleep habits, things can fall by the wayside. By treating our own sleep routines with the same care we do our little ones’, we can all enjoy better sleep overall.

With that in mind, here are five ways sleeping like a baby can help you, well, sleep like a baby. Let’s take a look.

Give yourself a curfew

Kids often moan about being forced to go to bed at a certain time every night, but this routine is something we should also be applying to your own sleep schedule. Having a set bedtime will help your body learn when it’s time to wind down, and when it’s time to wake up. When we go to bed at dramatically different times every night, it’s difficult for our bodies to adapt, leading to sleepless nights and exhausting days. Setting a strict schedule for yourself is a vital factor in improving how you sleep, and how long. Aim for the 7-9 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

Have a warm bath

A warm, gentle bath is a staple of any child’s bedtime routine, and should be part of yours too. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a bath before bedtime is a great way to wind down, while also stimulating blood flow to the hands and feet and helping your muscles relax. Making this part of the lead-up to bedtime will help you physically and mentally prepare for high quality sleep.

Create a calm environment

Keeping things calm and quiet is essential if you want your little ones to nod off without any fuss, and this shouldn’t be any different when it comes to your bedtime. Keeping your bedroom cool, dark and quiet helps to create the optimum atmosphere for sleep, while excess light can interfere with your body’s natural production of melatonin – often referred to as ‘the sleep hormone’.

Investing in blackout blinds can help to keep sunlight out of your room – a great investment, especially as the weather gets warmer and the mornings get lighter.

Read a bedtime story

Too many of us use our phones right up until the moment our heads hit the pillow – and often after! Not only do phone screens disrupt melatonin release with their brightness, but social media can also leave you feeling wired and anxious as you attempt to fall asleep. Swapping out scrolling for reading is a great way to feel more relaxed as you drift off, just as a bedtime story helps our children make their way to the land of nod.

No ‘sweets’ before bed

Watching what you eat and drink before bed is another important step in improving your sleep quality. You wouldn’t let your little ones raid the sweetie drawer before bed, so don’t let yourself have that extra coffee or snack as bedtime approaches. Sleep Education reports that consuming coffee as much as six hours before bed can impact your sleep quality, especially in older adults, as it takes their bodies longer to process caffeine.

The best sleep happens on a high-quality mattress, so check out the Perks range today. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.

The post “I slept like a baby” – how a child’s sleep routine could be the key to better sleep appeared first on Mammoth Perks.

It’s no secret that sleep is important. We’re all familiar with the exhaustion that hits when we don’t get enough sleep the night before. But while getting ample sleep is important for absolutely everybody, it’s particularly vital when it comes to our children.

Recent research has shown that sleep deprivation can have a swift and significant impact on child development. In fact, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia found that the repercussions of sleep deprivation are visible in children after only 4 nights of 1 fewer hour of sleep per night.

But why is sleep so important for our little ones? We’re going to explain. These are the main benefits that sleep has for children.

Sleep benefits their heart health

Data shows that sleep can protect children from vascular damage as a result of circulating stress hormones and damage to cholesterol.

Sleep specialist and researcher Jeffrey Durmer, M.D., Ph.D., states that “children with sleep disorders have excessive brain arousal during sleep, which can trigger the fight-or-flight response hundreds of times each night. Their blood glucose and cortisol remain elevated at night. Both are linked to higher levels of diabetes, obesity, and even heart disease.”

Sleep helps them grow

Sleep is essential for healthy growth in children, as growth hormones are primarily secreted during deep sleep. As such, babies tend to spend about 50% of their time in deep sleep, during which time their bodies grow and evolve.

Italian researchers carried out a study on children with deficient levels of growth hormones, and found that, on average, they sleep less than other children.

Sleep fights germs

When we sleep, we produce cytokines. These are proteins which the body uses to fight infection, stress and illness. They can also make us feel sleepy, which is why we feel so exhausted when we have a cold or flu — our brains are telling us to rest.

Too little sleep can impact the number of cytokines available, and research shows that adults who sleep 7 hours or less per night are up to 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who sleep 8 or more. Data on young children is limited, but studies on teenagers show that longer nightly sleeps reduced the number of reported bouts of illness.

Sleep affects their weight

When we feel full after eating, our bodies produce the hormone leptin, and this signals us to stop eating. However, research shows that sleep deprivation can inhibit our production of leptin, meaning children who are tired are more likely to just keep eating.

Our eating habits (and the eating habits of our children) are also impacted by a lack of sleep, as children, like adults, tend to crave foods with higher fat and carb values when they’re tired. Sleep-deprived children are also more likely to move around less, meaning they burn fewer calories.

Paediatric endocrinologist and sleep research at the University of Chicago, Dorit Koren, M.D., puts it simply, saying: “Over time, kids who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to be obese.”

Sleep promotes learning

Sleep doesn’t just impact our kids’ bodies, it affects their minds too. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that newborn babies are actually capable of learning in their sleep. They were played soft music and then given a gentle puff of air to their eyelids. After 20 minutes, the newborns were already anticipating the air by squinting when the music played.

Another study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst taught 40 nursery-aged children a game called memory. One week, the kids took a nap averaging 77 minutes. The next week, they didn’t take a nap. When they stayed awake the children forgot, on average, 15% of what they had learned, but they retained everything after napping.

Ensuring your kids get enough sleep every night may not be easy, with many parents working long hours and a host of tempting electronics to hand, but it’s clear that making the effort is vital. A healthy night’s sleep is a key step to a healthy, happy child.

A Mammoth mattress uses award-winning Medical Grade Foam and PostureCell® technologies to provide a good night’s sleep. Find your nearest retailer today by using our Store Finder and test drive a Mammoth for yourself.

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