Quality sleep is vitally important for children. Despite their seemingly endless stores of energy, children need sleep for its restorative effect. Sleep is essential for the health of adults and children alike. Additionally, sleep helps children remain alert during the day, which is vital in ensuring your kids receive the most from their education.

This article highlights exactly why your child needs a consistently good night’s sleep for school. You’ll find out what the ideal amount of sleep for your child is along with some top tips on getting the kids back into good sleeping habits.

Why Your Kids Need Sleep For School

Sending your kids to school sets them up for the future. If you want to maximize your child’s chances of getting the best education, you need to understand exactly why sleep is so important for school.

Improved Attention Span

Very young children often have a difficult time focusing their attention on one thing, and such problems are amplified when a child suffers from a chronic lack of sleep. In fact, children under the age of three who don’t get enough sleep are more susceptible to developing attention and/or impulse disorders by the time they turn six.

Attention span issues can afflict children who don’t have an attention disorder. Sleep deprivation mirrors the effects of these disorders, leading to more impulsive behaviour and a decreased ability to pay attention. Getting the right amount of sleep is vital for all children to absorb the information they are taught at school.

Stable Growth

The human body is a majestic, complex machine, and one of the most remarkable tasks it does is utilize sleep to promote growth. Human growth hormone is primarily secreted during deep sleep, meaning adequate sleep is vital in ensuring your child grows at a normal rate. Research has found that kids who sleep less than average tend to be deficient in growth hormone, meaning slower growth than normal.

Fewer Illnesses

One of the biggest detriments to children’s education is long periods spent at home fighting off illnesses. Several illnesses spread throughout the school year can really hamper progress at school.

When people sleep, they produce proteins known as cytokines, which help fight off infections and even prevent them. The prevailing research says that adults who are sleep deprived are three times more likely to develop infectious illnesses than those who get enough sleep. Since children’s bodies work in the same way, such results are applicable to children too. Longer and better-quality sleep means fewer illnesses and an easier time obtaining the relevant knowledge at school instead of having to play catch up all the time.

Improved Learning Abilities

Children of all ages benefit from improved learning abilities with enough high-quality sleep. The brain needs to process the information children learn at school during the day and store this information to memory. This remarkable aspect of brain functioning is at its best when children get a good night of sleep on school nights.

How much sleep do kids need?

Discovering the optimum amount of sleep for children who attend school is vital. The nature of the developing brain is such that kids of different ages require different amounts of sleep to get the maximum restorative and health benefits of sleeping. The following hours are a broad guideline:

• Children aged 3-6 should sleep 10-12 hours every night.
• Children aged 7-12 should sleep 10-11 hours each night.
• Children aged 12-18 should sleep 8-9 hours per night.

A consistent bedtime is important in ensuring enough sleep. Children should be drifting off at roughly the same time each night, which makes it easier to get into the habit of sleeping for a set number of hours every night.

How to get back into good sleeping habits

It’s understandable that children can spend the summertime sleeping inconsistently. Late nights playing with friends, playing video games, or watching movies can all contribute to this. However, when returning to school it’s important to create good sleeping habits. The below tips are useful for doing so.

Designate a sleep time for all the family

A big struggle with getting kids to sleep is perceived unfairness when adults or siblings are allowed to stay up longer. By setting a consistent sleep time for all the family, children are more likely to sleep when you ask them to because they understand its importance more when sleep is made a priority instead of an annoyance.

See a doctor for sleep issues

Even going out of your way to ensure your children get enough sleep is sometimes not enough. Some children suffer from issues such as difficulty falling asleep, resisting sleep, and snoring, all of which impact on the quality of sleep and the child’s daytime mood. Such issues with sleep are often caused by underlying health issues that your doctor can diagnose and treat. Take your kid to see the family doctor if you notice consistent crankiness or tiredness.

Establish a routine

Repeated patterns of behaviour before bedtime can help prepare your child for sleep. A routine can differ from family to family, but it typically involves brushing teeth, putting on pyjamas, turning off all electronics, and perhaps, reading a book.

Sleep environment

Regardless of routine, you can’t overlook sleep environment in ensuring good sleep. The most important thing is that the mattresses your children sleep on should be comfortable. A high-quality mattress is often the difference between restless uneasy night and undisturbed healthy sleep that allows your children to benefit optimally from their sleep time.

Consider an investment in a natural mattress. A natural mattress uses the softest quality fillings and all natural materials.

Another way to improve your children’s sleep environment is ensuring their bedrooms remain dark. Sources of light entering a room can make it difficult to fall asleep. Additionally, don’t allow your children to use electronic devices such as phones, tablets, or handheld games consoles in their bedrooms.

Allow Personal Objects

While you should forbid electronic devices in your kids’ bedrooms, it’s a good idea to allow personal objects, including teddy bears, blankets, or dolls. Such devices can provide a sense of security for your kids and reassure them before falling asleep. This is especially relevant for younger children who might feel a strong sense of separation when they need to sleep.

Closing Thoughts

• Adequate sleep has several benefits for school-going children, including improved attention span, increased learning capabilities, and fewer illnesses leading to fewer missed days from school.
• Kids of different ages need different amounts of sleep each night.
• A number of tips can help children get back into good sleeping habits as they return to school after a long summer off.
• An often-overlooked tip for better sleep is ensuring children sleep on a comfortable mattress. A high-quality mattress paves the way for undisturbed rest.

To learn more about how a natural mattress can help your child sleep better, contact the sleep experts at the Natural Sleep company. Our team has over 20 years of experience crafting high quality comfortable mattresses from natural materials. Call or email us today.