Ensuring that you get good sleep is critical for both your and your child’s wellbeing. We’ve all experienced how difficult it can be to control our moods when we are sleep deprived. The following guidelines are critical to follow for improving your family’s sleep:
During the Day
- While younger children may require naps, if sleeping at night is a problem, try to avoid them or limit them to 30 minutes or less. Napping throughout the day can make it harder to fall asleep at night. People often fall into a cycle of struggling to sleep at night and then needing to nap during the day. It is important to break this cycle by following this guideline
- Avoid caffeine in the evening (and ideally longer)
- Do not engage in high intensity exercise for six hours prior to bedtime
- Listen to soothing music, take a warm bath, or engage in other relaxing activities in the hour prior to going to sleep
- Try not to attempt to solve or focus on personal, work, or school problems prior to bedtime
- Lower the number and intensity of lights you have on leading up to going to sleep
Bedtime
- Make your room as dark as possible and consider using a sleep mask to help melatonin (a sleep hormone) production
- Adhere to a consistent sleep schedule of eight hours per night (i.e., same bedtime and waking time)
- Avoid watching tv or doing other tasks in your bed to help mentally associate your bed with sleep
- Lower the temperature to 68 degrees or lower
Trouble Falling Asleep
- If you are struggling to fall asleep, get out of bed and engage in a relaxing activity (e.g., reading with the lights low)
- Keep the lights low or use a nightlight if you need to use the bathroom during the middle of the night
Reference:
Nay, W.R. (2014). The anger management workbook. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.