Putting kids to bed can be an exhausting task, especially when they do not have a set sleeping pattern, to make them fall asleep instantly. Their overly active minds and young bodies do not allow them to dive deep into the dreamland with ease.
Being a parent, you often find yourself occasionally checking up on your kids to make sure that they are asleep timely so that their bodies and mind could recharge themselves for the next day.
Children require much more sleep than adults as their bodies and brain are in developing stages, requiring maximum rest to ensure healthy and productive growth.
Parenting is not an easy task, especially in a progressive technological era where children have adopted unhealthy lifestyle from a very young age.
Overindulgence in online activities, excessive consumption of junk food followed by a lack of healthy diet has led to irregular sleeping patterns among teenagers and younger children.
In this article, we will discuss some of the practical and convenient methods which you can adopt as a parent allowing you to put your kids to sleep in an instant, without much hassle or exhausting yourself in the process.
Habits Which Can Help Your Kids Fall Asleep Instantly
Prepare A Relaxing Bath
Infants and young kids need extra caring and pampering to make sure they stay healthy and active. Slightest of fluctuations in their bodies can lead to a rapid decline in their health.
You need to take diligent care of their hygiene to ensure their health. Preparing a relaxing bath for your kids before going to bed is beneficial to aid them to relax and get rid of the unwanted germs.
Bathing them before bed not only speeds up the lowering of their body temperature but also lulls their mind to sleep fast.
Make Sure Your Child Is Properly Fed Before Bed
Toddlers and Infants find it much difficult to stay asleep during the night, in contrast to the daytime. Making sure that they are adequately fed before bedtime helps them to sleep peacefully.
It is advised to breastfeed your Infants before bed, as a full stomach not only helps them sleep calmly but also induces a sense of security and intimacy between the mother and the child.
Lying down with your child while putting them to bed reduces the separation anxiety in the child, and they fall asleep fast.
Setting Up A Daily Routine For Your Child
Routines play an essential role in an individuals life. It helps us keep our lives focused and grounded.
Helping your children set a daily routine for themselves is one of the easiest ways to improve their sleep patterns and make them fall asleep instantly.
No matter the age group of your child, be it a toddler, a pre-schooler or an infant, you should create a set pattern for their daily routines from waking up to having lunch and dinner on time, a set time for watching TV or engaging in extra-curricular activities etc.
Helping your child get familiar with what is to come next in their day and set up their circadian rhythms appropriately from a young age, will not only lower their anxiety levels but will also promote healthy sleeping patterns.
Set Up A Fixed Bedtime For Your Children
Setting up a proper and fixed night routine ensures that your kid falls asleep fast and on appropriate time.
Make sure that all of their tasks are finished and they have appropriately eaten four to five hours before going to bed, to avoid digestion problems.
Make sure they are tucked in their bed and ready to sleep as soon as their bedtime arrives.
Do not be extra lenient towards their schedule. Once their bodies get accustomed to their daily night routine, they will fall asleep fast and easy.
Set Up A Fixed Wakeup Time For Your Kids
Weekends often end with a disrupted routine where your kids are unable to fall asleep timely. Sleeping in during the off days is one of the common factors which leads to the inability to fall asleep on your set schedule.
Being a parent, you should make sure that your children follow the same wake-up routine as they do in the weekdays.
Avoid letting any gap appear in your daily routine to avoid the turbulence caused at the end of weekends.
During weekdays, make sure that your children do not take frequent naps during the day so that when the night comes, their bodies are ready to lessen the exhaustion leading them to sleep fast.
Turn Off All The Digital Devices Two Hours Prior
Scientific evidence has shown that using digital devices before going to bed causes an interference with the production of melatonin, that induces sleep.
As a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure that every digital device in your children use, has been turned off before them going to bed.
Avoid letting them use E–book for reading or surf the internet while lying on bed. In this hyper-digital world, it is inevitable for children to avoid using to cellphones, tablets, Personal Computers, X-box etc., but being a parent, you can surely limit their use.
Set Up A Sleep Inducing Environment For Your Child
Appropriating the surroundings where your child is supposed to sleep plays an essential role in establishing healthy and quick sleeping habits.
Make sure that your child’s room is set correctly and made ready for sleeping before you put your kid to bed. Ensure that the sheets and mattress are soft and fluffy enough to match the comfort level of your child.
Remove or shut down all the possible interferences that produce any sounds. See that the room is calm and quiet for your child to fall asleep fast.
Use Lavender Oil or Lavender Scented Products For Your Child
Various experimentations have verified that using lavender oil or lavender-scented products aid in sleep.
A marked increased in slow–wave rest was recorded among the subjects, when put the idea to the test.
Lavender oil acts as a catalyst to slow down our heartbeat and relax our body muscles. This not only removes the strain from our body but also lowers the level of hormones causing stress and anxiety.
Using lavender oil on your kids before can help them significantly in improving their sleep patterns.
Lower The Temperature Of The Room
Lowering the temperature of your child’s room is an active step to ensure that he or she falls asleep fast and deep.
At nighttime, most of our body processes slow down, leading to a drop in our core temperature, but the blood rushes to our arm and legs, heating these regions up.
A low room temperature allows the body to maintain an equilibrium in temperature, which does not allow your kid to feel agitated or restless while sleeping.
Keep The Room Dark For Your Children To Sleep
Bright places interfere with the production of Melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone which is light–sensitive.
During the daytime, when your child is exposed to sunlight or any other brightness, the creation of melatonin stops whereas, in a darker environment, more melatonin is produced leading your child to feel sleepy and lethargic.
Make sure that you have prepared a room that is dark enough to stimulate the required amount of melatonin to help your child fall asleep fast.
Help Your Child To Relax Before Sleeping
Once you have tucked your child in bed, make sure that you do not stress upon sleeping instead engage your child in some calming activity to lull him to sleep slowly.
Children sleeping under stress often encounter nightmares, which causes them to wake up in the middle of the night or to disturb their sleep.
If your child is having recurrent nightmares, make sure to look out for any disorders. Sing a calming song or a lullaby for your child while putting them to sleep. This will help their mind to relax, and they will fall asleep fast.
Make Sure Your Child Do not Indulge In Any Stimulants Before Sleep
Eating Junk food, using caffeinated or carbonated drinks is common among teenagers. Their unhealthy habits not only results in an excessive accumulation of sugar and carbs in body but also disrupts their sleeping pattern, which problematizes their sleep.
Being a parent, you should make sure that your child stays away from all of these unhealthy food types and keeps a healthy diet.
Feed them a balanced and healthy meal to restore the imbalance produced in their bodies and regulate their sleep.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are numbers of methods that can be adopted by the parents to ensure that their child’s sleeping patterns stay healthy.
Regulation of their daily routine by the parents, followed by an adequate check on their lifestyle can successfully boost their child’s sleep routine.
Following some or all of the method discussed above will not only allow you to make your kids fall asleep instantly but will help your child maintain a healthy sleep pattern in the long term.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article !