Summer is almost over for students in the D.C. area, and back to school is top of mind for many.
Stocking up on pencils, notebooks and other supplies is a must before the first bell rings, but so is returning to a normal sleep schedule, which often gets derailed during summer’s long days.
“As the days get shorter and school is approaching, you want to restart those routines that you have — especially for little kids, but all of us do better if we have predictability in life,” said Dr. Harvey Karp, a nationally renowned pediatrician, author and assistant professor of pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine.
“And sleep is like the best, cheapest vitamin or nutritional supplement that you could possibly imagine. Better sleep is associated with allowing your body to recover from the day before. It helps your brain; it helps you consolidate your memories; it allows your body to use its calories better … It’s amazing how much you can get, just by getting that extra hour of sleep, so it’s important for kids and adults.”
Here are some of Karp’s best tips for getting kids back to a good sleep routine before they head back to school:
Magic breathing
One trick Karp encourages parents to teach is a meditation-like method he calls “magic breathing.” Have your child sit in a comfortable position and take five slow breaths, with the exhale lasting three to five seconds. The slow breaths help kids relax their face muscles, which Karp said is key to calming the whole body.
“And if they do that two or three times a day, they’re already starting to learn how to turn themselves up and get excited, but now to start turning themselves down so they can get calm and focused for the work that’s going to be coming up,” said Karp, author of “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” “The Happiest Toddler on the Block,” and “The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep.”
Screens off
If your child has difficulty falling asleep at night, turning off TV, tablet and computer screens an hour before bedtime may help, since screens emit a stimulating blue light.
“And it turns out that blue light turns off your brain’s sleep hormone, the melatonin,” Karp said. “It actually keeps your brain alert and awake.”
Encourage books or other engaging games or activities that have less of an impact on the sleep cycle.
Create a night-like environment in your home
It can be difficult for kids to wind down and fall asleep when it’s still light out, so Karp suggests making a few small tweaks around the house to help their bodies and brains prepare for bed.
Close the shades about an hour before bedtime to block natural light, and turn on incandescent lights throughout the home. Karp said their orange and yellowish hue “gives the brain the message that sleep is coming.”
Another tip? Turn on white noise ahead of your child’s bedtime and keep it running throughout the night.
“And what that does is it helps the child not pay attention to the noises outside — maybe the television that someone’s watching, or even the passing trucks and airplanes. It also helps them not pay attention to their internal noise — the distractions like being a little bit hungry or having a little bit of a stuffy nose or having scraped their knee and it’s throbbing a little bit,” Karp said.
“White noise is this incredibly valuable and totally inexpensive sleep booster and regulator to help children’s brains to recognize the cue that it’s time for bed, and that can be very helpful.”
Cut out the curtain calls
Whether it’s requests for more kisses or for one last sip of water, little ones come up cute and creative excuses for getting out of bed when it’s time to go to sleep. Karp calls these “curtain calls,” and finds the best way to avoid them is by teaching young kids patience using a method he named “twinkle interruptus.”
When putting your child to bed, act like you just remembered something important and tell them you’ll be right back. Return to the bedtime routine, and a few minutes later, make up an excuse to go out of the room again, this time for longer. Karp said practicing this at night and throughout the day teaches a child to stretch their patience.
“And when you do this technique, usually over three, four, five, six days, kids start to fall asleep while they’re waiting for you to come back in the room and you can help them fall asleep and help them give up this desire to be part of the party without … lots of tears and screaming,” Karp said.
Don’t forget about the usuals
Karp said avoiding late dinners, cutting out the caffeine and getting plenty of exercise during the day helps kids wind down and get good sleep at the end of the day.
“If you set it up and you get a lot of sunlight exposure and running around outside, it’s just much easier for the brain and body to go to sleep at night,” he said.
