Are you finding it hard to win the battle and finally make your 10-year-old to sleep? Getting to sleep is easy, however it can be hard if you do not abide by the clock fully. We always think that children do not battle with sleep.
The parents often find their children taking longer than usual to get to bed. However, it is at this age when enough sleep is quintessential to the child for growth and development. Both physical and mental development.
Failure to get enough sleep may lead to being inactive and being retarded in some way. Remember this does not apply to children only.
Every living being needs some sleep. However, during the early development of the brain, sleep is a primary activity.
Reasons why your child is not Sleeping
There must be certain reasons making your child not to sleep on time. We have done an extensive research for you. We hope that this will help you to identify the do’s and don’ts for your child to get an express sleep.
Unpredictable Sleep Routine
As far as you want your child to have a regular time for sleeping, you should also be involved in making it happen.
Firstly, ensure that you have an early supper and all food stuffs are done in an hour ahead. You should know that the activities of the child has increased drastically and they are leaving the child so tired and exhausted.
Bedtime Fears
Some external anxiety can creep in to your child mind and begin distracting his imaginations leading to loss of sleep.
Other fears can arise from the school work, family difficulties, serious illnesses. They all can make the children’s brain worrisome and make the child feel insecure while sleeping.
Poor Diet
Sometimes the children become canning and they only want to eat what they want. This can see that your child is eating only junks that are not so healthy.
Additionally, most junks are sugars. Sugar is not healthy for consuming before sleep. Caffeine is also poor for a child sleeping habits.
Too much Interaction with Electronic Devices
Everyone know that technology is also finding its way to the children’s bedroom just like it has done even to some grownups. However, for children, it is riskier to trade sleep for catching up with trends and favourite shows on YouTube.
What to do to ensure a good Sleep
Similarly, there must be habits that you can follow to ensure that your child gets a good night sleep. Therefore, ensure that you adhere to the stated points if you have been having issues on your child’s sleep.
Set a Predictable Routine
For a 10-year-old, there is need for an average of 10 hours each night. However, there have been many variabilities in sleep patterns.
As a parent you should ensure that you always ensure that the child has slept enough time. Ensure that the child does not wake up with a sleep backlog. This can only be done by ensuring that the sleep the child gets is adequate.
Set a Wake-up time
Having a fixed time to rise from the bed id awesome and makes the child not to wake up tired.
Thus, you should know how much sleep your child needs and at which time is convenient for them to sleep to ensure they wake up on the set time.
This greatly avoids the sleepless nights. However, you can adjust the time on weekends and holidays.
Turn off the electronic gadgets some hours before sleeping
Some proven research has shown that the light that is produced by TV and Computers interferes with the production of a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin is a hormone that is responsible for sleeping and waking up. The light can interrupt your sleep for two or more hours if you are exposed only for 30 minutes. Ensure that all gadgets are left out form the bedroom.
Reduce Stress
There is a hormone that plays a role in sleep called cortisol, also termed as the “stress hormone.” When the cortisol levels are high, the child’s body will not be able to shut down and sleep.
You should try to keep activities calm, the lights dim, and the environment quiet before sleeping. This helps avoid excess amounts of cortisol in the child’s system.
Keep things cool
The sleep that your child get is not dependent on the light available. It is also sensitive to the temperature around. Melatonin levels help in regulating the drop of internal body temperature.
Be careful not to bundle your child with too much clothes or too high temperature on the Ac. A typical room temperature or a little cooler is the best for deep sleep.
Focus on a good Sleep Atmosphere
Just like adults, kids can have trouble shutting their brains off for the night. Instead of increasing that anxiety by insisting it’s time to sleep, consider focusing more on the idea of relaxation and calming your child’s body down.
Check out for some sleep Disorders
At the end of everything, if the sleep problem persists ensure that you visit a paediatrician for further check-ups. Additionally, you can check if the child is experiencing some nightmares and night terrors.
Conclusion
Children aged 10 need 9-11 hours of sleep. At the same time, there is an increasing demand on their time from school (e.g., homework), sports and other extracurricular and social activities.
In addition, school-aged children become more interested in TV, computers, the media and Internet as well as caffeine products – all of which can lead to difficulty falling asleep, nightmares and disruptions to their sleep.
In particular, watching TV close to bedtime has been associated with bedtime resistance, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety around sleep and sleeping fewer hours.
Sleep problems and disorders are prevalent at this age. Poor or inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioural problems such as ADHD and cognitive problems that impact on their ability to learn in school.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article !