As the summer holidays start to wind down, September is looming, and that means it’s time to get your children back into a solid sleep routine. After a few months of relaxed sleep patterns, your children may find it hard to adjust back to early morning rises and early lights out… which is why you’ll want to start this transition early.
Research has shown that children aged four - 11 get an average of six and a half hours of sleep per night during the holidays, a whole hour less than they’d normally get during term time. While an extra hour in bed sounds nice to many of us, it goes against what your child has become accustomed to during the summer, which can confuse and disrupt them.
Sleep is so important but especially for children as they’re still growing and developing (see our picks for the best kids mattress for more). So, to avoid any back to school-related tantrums, you should start getting them ready for term time by adjusting their sleep schedule two weeks before school starts.
To find out more, I spoke to Tony Spencer from Spruce who explained the importance of getting your children back into a school sleep routine, and his five tips on how to make it a smoother process.
1. Establish a consistent routine
One of the key rules for good sleep hygiene is to establish a consistent pre-bedtime routine. Having this in place can help your child wind down, and following the same steps night after night signals to the body that it’s time to get ready for sleep, making falling asleep much easier. Spencer suggests “introducing a calming bedtime routine two weeks before school begins. This could include reading, puzzles, or quiet play, followed by sleep hygiene tasks.”
2. Maximise morning light exposure
Light plays a key role in our sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm, so to help your child adjust to earlier school wake-up times, it’s recommended to maximise the amount of morning light exposure that your child receives. Spencer advises getting your child outside within an hour of waking from mid-August as “this early light exposure helps reset the body's internal clock.”
3. Gradually adjust sleep/wake times
Bedtime can completely change during the summer months, as your children don’t have to go to sleep or wake up early for class. But rather than completely changing their bedtime schedule right before they go back to school, you should “start shifting bedtimes and wake-up times by 10-15 minutes every couple of days" two weeks before school starts, says Spencer. He states that "this gentle approach allows the body to adapt more naturally to the new schedule."
4. Manage screen times
Over the school holidays, it’s likely that your child has watched more TV and played on their tablet a lot more than normal. As you adjust their bedtime schedule, you should also start to reintroduce stricter screen time limits. "Gradually reduce evening device usage and ensure night mode is activated at least an hour before the target bedtime," suggests Spencer. Not only will this stop your child from being codependent or addicted to technology, but it also helps minimise blue light exposure which can keep them awake for longer when they should be going to sleep.
5. Address back to school anxieties
Going back to school after having some time off can be stressful for anyone, especially your children. So, as the new term approaches, “create daily opportunities for open conversations about any school-related worries," Spencer suggests. "This can prevent anxieties from building up and interfering with sleep as the first day approaches."
When should you start getting your child back into a sleep routine?
For most families in England and Wales, schools typically reopen in early September, so you’ll want to start adjusting your child’s sleep routine around August 21st. Using these two weeks before school starts is crucial, as Spencer explains: "This timeline allows for a more relaxed transition, reducing stress for both parents and children. It's much easier to make small, incremental changes over two weeks than to attempt a drastic shift right before school starts."
For more school-related tips, check out Back To Class month on T3.