Children's Sleep: How to Get Children Back Into a Sleep Routine After Summer

For many children, summer means changes to their routines, not only school timetables, but also meal times and even bedtime. The problem comes when it is time to get back to routine. So in this post, we are going to share some tips and advice on how we can restore a children's sleep routine effectively and healthily.

Summer and children's sleep, how does it affect them?

One of the main reasons is daylight hours, as prolonged exposure to natural light delays the sleep cycle. Changing meal times, both lunch and dinner, also affects when our body tells us it is time to go to sleep. In children, this can lead to going to bed later, sleeping fewer hours or having sleep that is not fully restorative, but lighter.

But the issue appears when it is time to go back to school, and we inevitably have to reset schedules, both for meals and sleep, in order to have good performance and energy day to day.

How do you create a sleep routine for children?

If you want to know how to create an effective sleep routine for children, here are some basic tips and advice to help you achieve it:

• Bring bedtime forward gradually rather than from one day to the next. In other words, start this gradual process in the days before going back to school. Move it by around 15-30 minutes each day, for 2 or 3 days, until you reach the schedule you want or the one you had before the holidays.
• Keep the habit consistent: children need their routines, something that lets them know bedtime, for example, is approaching. Effective routines include: having a light, early dinner, a warm bath, stopping the use of or looking at screens at least 1 hour before bedtime and even replacing them with a book or story.

• At bedtime, reduce exposure to light: try to create a dim environment or one with little sunlight, as this light is responsible for regulating the production of the sleep hormone, better known as melatonin. We can use curtains to create a dimmer setting, avoid screens, as mentioned earlier, and avoid sport or outdoor activities in the hours before bedtime.

Problems with children's sleep schedules: what if that is not enough?

If you find that the habits mentioned are not enough, we can use food supplements to help them regulate that time imbalance. But remember to rely on them only when necessary and when the previous methods do not work. As for sleep supplements specifically for children, we recommend:

• Zzzquil Niños: It is a gummy supplement that helps children feel less reluctant to take it. It also has a pleasant forest fruits flavour. It contains low-dose melatonin, suitable for children over 3 years old, and is enriched with other natural ingredients such as chamomile and lavender to promote relaxation and help them fall asleep. It also does not cause a rebound effect, dependency or next-day drowsiness.
• PranaBB Aceite Masajes sueño: If you prefer a topical method, essential oils for massage can help. In this case, we recommend this one from Pranarom, with oils such as lavender, ideal for using on your little one after their bath and before bedtime. It can also be used on children and babies from 3 months of age.

Both products can be used alongside each other, but remember that this support should always be combined with adapting your child's sleep routine in order to achieve results as quickly and naturally as possible.

Even so, if your child continues to have persistent sleep problems and finds it very difficult to get proper rest despite having tried everything, it is best to consult a specialist before increasing doses or using medication.