5 simple actions to finally get your kids to sleep
Sleep is tricky for parents. When our kids are not sleeping well, we don't sleep well. And believe me, I know how it feels to try to function on not-even-nearly-enough-sleep. It's the hardest time to make decisions, which makes fixing the issue even trickier. But that's not all. Our kids need sleep to recall and retain information. This means that without healthy sleep, kids are going to have a hard time remembering their homework, or answering the teacher when they are asked a question.
So when our kids are not sleeping, what can we do?
The sleep cycle is controlled by melatonin, a natural hormone in the body. This sleep hormone is released in the evenings to tell the body to get ready to sleep. The first way to support healthy sleep is to support melatonin. Before I jump in with 5 simple actions, I want to have a quick chat about melatonin. As I mentioned, melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced in the body. But it is also available as a supplement and you may have heard of parents giving their kids melatonin to help them sleep. In the UK, melatonin is now regulated as "medicinal by function" by the Medicines Control Agency. This means that melatonin is treated as a medication. If you feel that a melatonin supplement may help your child, speak to their doctor and tell them what has been going on with their sleep and daytime behaviour. Many parents of kids with an ADHD profile find melatonin supplementation very helpful. Ok let's get going with some simple actions:
1. Dim the lights
This sounds simple, right? But let's look at why this works and how to do it right.
Melatonin is activated by darkness. This means that the body can sense when evening arrives, and reacts to this by releasing melatonin. But nowadays, do we even notice when it gets dark outside? Our kids are often watching telly, on screens, or sitting in bright rooms. So let's make a change.
To encourage your kid's bodies to release melatonin, dim the lights from the early evening. This can mean turning off all ceiling lights and only using floor lights or lamps. It could mean lighting a few candles during dinner. And it definitely means no screens. Screens (television, computers, laptops, iPads, phones) emit an artificial blue light. This light is telling our bodies that it is still daytime. The light actually tells the body to stop producing melatonin. It's not easy, but switch screen time to earlier in the day. Audio books are a nice way to spend an evening if your kids don't want to read or play a game. At bedtime, it is best to have your kids sleep in darkness. If they do need a nightlight, find one with a red or orange light which does not stop melatonin from doing its job.
2. Add in sleepy foods
This is another way to support melatonin. We now know how it's activated on and off, but how is it made? Melatonin is made from serotonin, and serotonin is made from tryptophan. But you don't need to remember all that. Just know that in order for the body to make lots of lovely sleep hormones, it needs the building blocks to make them. The lego bricks of sleep.... tryptophan. Tryptophan is found in many foods. Some you may have heard of, like getting sleepy after eating turkey or after a mug of warm milk. That's the tryptophan. So here's a list of good sources. Think about how you can regularly add these in to your kid's meals.
Whole milk and cheese
Eggs
Chicken, turkey and salmon
Almonds and pistachios
Bananas and pineapple
Oats, including porridge
Dark chocolate
There are many ways to incorporate these foods into your kid's day. Try some warm milk with a sprinkle of dark chocolate for an evening drink, or a cheese omelette or banana porridge topped with some nuts for breakfast. Even a handful of almonds as a snack is getting the tryptophan in!
3. Run and jump
Physical activity really is a solution for everything isn't it? Here's why it's important for sleep. Our sleep is a cycle. We often see it as something that happens at the end or the day, but our bodies see sleeping and waking up as a continuous cycle. The hormone cortisol is released to wake us up, and melatonin is released to send us to sleep before the cycle continues the next day with a fresh boost of cortisol. Being active in the first half of the day helps the body stay on this cycle. In fact, children who are active have been found to not only fall asleep more quickly, but to sleep more deeply. So take some time to get outside. Run and jump. Be playful with your kids to keep them moving and have their daytime activities support their nighttime sleep.
4. Try tart cherry
Tart cherry is fantastic to support sleep. It contains melatonin and helps tryptophan be available and ready to use in the body to make even more melatonin. A winning combination! Now tart cherry juice does contain natural fruit sugars. Due to this, I recommend using tart cherry concentrate rather than juice. It can be mixed with yogurt or even kefir for a gut boost. Give your kids tart cherry twice per day... once as a midmorning snack then again in the evening.
If you would like to give it a try, I recommend Be Sleepy which is a lovely mix of calming ingredients alongside the cherry. You can mix it into warm milk or mix it into a smoothie with a banana (remember those sleepy foods!).
For older kids, Cherry Night by Viridian is a fantastic blend of cherry and magnesium and can also be mixed into a calming bedtime drink.
5. Add calming magnesium
Magnesium is an important nutrient for our kids when we are thinking about their sleep and their focus at school. Not only does it help to regulate melatonin but this superstar also helps to balance neurotransmitters, bringing feelings of calm. Unfortunately many of our kids are low in magnesium so adding it is one of my top get-started tips. It's so important, I've written a blog post about how to add it in!
6. Find some calm
I challenge you to try meditation with your kids. While it can feel awkward at first, and even bring some giggles, committing to 10 minutes per day can support the sleep / wake cycle that we talked about earlier, lowering cortisol and increasing melatonin. Basically, mediation can help tell your body what to do. Meditating with your kids is also very comforting. It becomes a calm time to look forward to, and a way to release the pressures of the day. You may find it helps with your own sleep too. Try the Stop, Breathe and Think app, which is free on the App Store or Google Play. For older kids, try the Oak tree app on the App Store.
Is your child struggling with focus at school and you're ready for support? Let's chat. We'll talk through your concerns and how I can help.
