Spring Clean Your Family’s Sleep

By: Liane Mamo, Certified Child Sleep Consultant (Good Night Sleep Site Ottawa)

A well-rested family can go a long way in creating an overall healthy, happy family unit. No matter what age your kids are, sleep is essential to their growth and development, immune system, behaviour and more. As adults, sleep is also just as important but always the first to get overlooked. That’s right parents, I’m looking at you.

I always encourage parents to stop and take an overall sleep audit of your house and think of how you can improve your family’s sleep. Small changes to your family’s overall sleep hygiene can make a big impact. Commit to it. Try it out. Here’s four simple ways to spring clean your family’s sleep:

Put down the devices. Cut-out any screen time at least one hour before bed. Keep tech free

of the bedroom. The blue light from screens can prevent our natural sleep hormone (melatonin) from flowing, keeping you awake longer. TIP: store your phones on the main floor of your house or away from your bedrooms. For little ones, avoid screen time when they first get up to prevent early wake times.

Make Bedtime Earlier. The power of an earlier bedtime for everyone in your house has its magical powers. The benefits of an earlier bedtime can make you sleep more sound and even later in the am. With extra-circular activities, sports and daily chores, bedtime is often pushed later than it should be and your family can run the risk of becoming overtired. Be aware of the clock and commit to a few nights a week where everyone gets to bed earlier. TIP: Parents (because we all know we need to get to bed earlier!) make your bedtime ½ hour earlier for at least two weeks and see how you feel. You won’t go back. Trust me.

Evaluate your Bedrooms. Can you improve things for a better night’s sleep? Is your bed a bed you want to crawl into after a long day? Are there distractions in your child’s room preventing them from sleeping or perhaps is there too much light coming in? Eliminate distractions, make your room and your child’s room a place they want to unwind and sleep in. TIP: don’t forget about room temperature. An ideal temperature for a room (for sleeping) is between 20-22 degrees Celsius.

Focus On Your Bedtime Routine. For your kids a bedtime routine is such a crucial part of better nights sleep and often it’s the parents who need to improve on this. Work at creating a good half hour routine for yourself and the kids that will allow you to unwind and naturally enter a sleepier state of mind. TIP: Now that you’ve put down the tech, pick up a book, start journaling or colouring. All great family activities everyone can do together.

Liane Mamo is certified infant and toddler sleep consultant with Good Night Sleep Site Ottawa and mom to a superhero-obsessed 4-year-old. Liane is committed to providing families with emotional and educational support to help their baby or child with their sleep needs. Find Liane at her website or on Facebook and Twitter for sleep tips, free sleep Q & A’s, articles and more.