Wellbeing

Relaxation techniques to help kids sleep.

https://www.headspace.com/sleep/better-sleep-kids 

Sleep is amazingly important for growing minds and bodies. Having time to shut down and reboot your brain is integral to so many things, including being ready to learn, regulate emotions and make friends. Ideally kids would get between 9 and 12 hours of sleep a night, however we all know that there are many kids who often have trouble sleeping. There are some things that you can do to help your child sleep better and prepare them for sleep. Setting up a good sleep routine is beneficial for children as well as adults. 

Here are some things you can try at home;

• set a clear and fairly rigid bedtime. Going to sleep at the same time every (or most) nights can help you sleep better. This is also true for waking up at roughly the same time each morning
• no screen time for at least one hour before bedtime. The blue light that you get from screens can actually suppress the secretion of melatonin, as can bright lights inside, using lamps can be helpful
• try using a guided meditation to listen to before bed. Smiling Mind have some great guided meditations that you can access for free
• relaxation techniques, such as breathing, can help to calm down the nervous system and get little bodies and minds ready for sleep
• getting 10 minutes of morning light each day before 10am can help with your body clock and tell your body to start making melatonin again in the evening. This needs to be outside, not just through a window or from lights inside.

These are just a few ideas and they work for adults as well as children. They are free and easy to do, so why not give some or all a try!

On another note, I would like to let you know that this will be my last week at Holy Rosary…for now. I’ll be taking 12 months of family leave and then I’ll be back. I’m very excited for the year ahead but will also be sad to be away for so long. Thank you for all of your well wishes and I leave you in the very capable hands of Trist!