Improving the Family Sleeping Patterns

1.Educate yourself to your child’s sleep needs and patterns.

2. Look for signs of insufficient sleep/sleepiness:
• difficulties in waking
• irritability late in the day
• falling asleep spontaneously during quiet times of the day
• sleeping for extra long periods on the weekends.

3. Enforce and maintain regular sleeping schedules.

4. Talk to your child about the sleeping patterns. Try to ascertain any problems. They may just need help with organising themselves or finding a balance.

5. Encourage relaxing quiet times or calm activities (dimmed lights, no loud music).

6. Make adjustments if necessary and assess the time spent in extracurricular activities, like, after-school sports, homework, chores, watching tv or playing computer games.

7. If your child's sleep schedule during holidays is not in sync with the approaching school schedule, help them to adjust ready for a smooth transition. This process can take several days, so plan ahead!

8. What they eat effects how they sleep. Some foods contribute to restful sleep; other foods keep you awake. Read the Food & Sleep article.

9. Be a good role model: Make sleep a high priority for yourself and your family and practice good sleep procedures. Listen to your body. If you are often sleepy, get more sleep at night, take naps, or sleep longer when possible.

10. Sleep allows important changes to occur internally, which are essential for good health. A minimum of 8 hours per night is considered sufficient.