Tips for a Healthy Sleep Routine for Kids
The summer holidays are coming to an end and for some of you this means getting the bedtime routine back on track for the school term. If you are dreading tricky nights of trying to get your toddlers and young children to sleep, here are some tips that may help.
A regular bedtime routine, even at the weekend is important for children as it helps to regulate their internal body clock. You could establish a book reading, or a bath routine to signal that bedtime is coming up soon. Aim to control the noise level if you can. Use blackout curtains to create a dark space. Keep an eye on the room temperature as if it is too hot or too cold it may affect your child’s ability to fall to sleep. Young children can be a nightmare to get to sleep, they often need a cuddle with their favourite toy, blanket, or their favourite story before they will settle down for the night.
A bath before bedtime can help your baby unwind
Baths can be a great way to help a baby or toddler relax and calm down before bed. This could be followed by a gentle massage. If you like this idea, you could incorporate some BetterYou Magnesium Sleep Kid’s Body Spray into this massage routine. This is a mix of magnesium, lavender and chamomile which is simply massaged into their skin to help your child to calm down, relax, and soothe their senses before sleep. It can help them fall into a deeper and more sustained sleep and wouldn’t that be great. I love that this is suitable from 12 months onwards and is paediatrician approved, as well as dermatologically tested and suitable for sensitive skin.
You might prefer to add some magnesium flakes to the bathwater rather than doing the massage with the body spray. Take a look at BetterYou Magnesium Sleep Kids’ Bath Flakes, these are a lovely mixture of magnesium chloride and relaxing Lavender to help your toddler relax in preparation for bedtime. It's great that these are also suitable from 12 months of age.
Herbal teas to aid relaxation and support healthy sleep
Don’t forget yourself. You could unwind with a nighttime tea. There are lots of herbal teas for sleep to choose from, many of these teas will contain herbs like camomile, lavender, or lemon balm. A customer once told me that they put one tea bag of Salus Lemon Balm and one bag of Salus Camomile in their mug together. They said this was a brilliant combination that worked well for them especially when they are stressed or worked up. They told me to spread the word about it. I have used this combination several times and I have found it very helpful. I hope you do too.
You might enjoy listening to some relaxing music before you head off to bed. This can be helpful for some people. If you can avoid looking at your phone or any screen for an hour before bed, as the blue light emitted from these appliances can interfere with melatonin production, an important hormone required to stimulate the sleep cycle. If you like the idea of the Magnesium Sleep Spray, there's an adult BetterYou Sleep Spray , so you can hopefully get a restful night’s sleep too!
It can difficult to get back into a sleep routine after a break so I hope that these tips will help.
