Clocks Go Back - Children's Sleep Tips

How to Help your Child Adjust to the Extra Hour

Many people will relish the thought of an extra hour in bed when the clocks go back this autumn. But for many parents with young children this is a far-flung dream! 7pm will become 6pm but worse still 6am will become 5am! Not a pretty thought.

Routine is key for children so making the transition as unnoticeable as possible is paramount.

So, as part of national Clocks Go Back Week, Warren Evans’ trusted Sleep Advisor has put some tips to help your child, toddler, and infant - as well as you moms and dads – manage the extra hour more easily and generally have a more relaxed bedtime.

1. Many parents have found success changing bedtime over the course of a week, or a weekend, depending on the age and temperament of your little one. For young children, it's often easiest to change the bedtime in 15-minute increments over a long weekend. If there is adjustment, then it won't interfere with waking up for school.

For babies and toddlers who nap, it's best to spread the change over a longer period of time. Depending on your child, you can change bedtime by 10 minutes per day over 6 days until you're on the right schedule.

2. Plan days with heavy activity in the morning, particularly physical activity, and then a more relaxed and calm afternoon for the days on which you are putting the bedtime later. If your young baby is particularly sleepy you may even need to introduce an extra power-nap in the late afternoon.

3. During the transition, keep lights bright and curtains open a little longer to encourage children to stay awake for longer. Make bath time a little longer to help stretch out the time.

4. Be sure that windows have black-out shades for the morning time so the light is blocked out and children are not woken up earlier than they should be.

5. Over the days you change bedtime, be sure to change bath time, naptime and mealtime to match the new routine. If the bedtime changes are gradual - say 10 minutes over 6 days - then change the other activities by 10 minutes as well.

6. Be sure to adjust your own schedule in the same way you change your children's. It will make the routine move more easily for everyone.

7. If you have a child who wakes up early naturally, then you may need to look at adjusting the bedtime over a longer period to ensure the extra hour is fully accounted for. Or if your child is a late sleeper, and you need more time to get ready in the mornings, then you may find moving the bedtime back a half hour rather than an hour will help.  

8. If your child is older, you can offer rules that support the change in routine. Some parents use clocks with a sun and a moon and tell the child that they must stay in bed as long as the moon is out. Some use this as a way of reinforcing the lesson of telling time with the rationale that certain times are for playing and others for staying cozy under the blankets.

9. To ensure a calm and peaceful bedtime, always be careful what your child eats close to bedtime. Do not allow children to have drinks that contain caffeine and or food and drinks that contain lots of sugar, especially late in the day, as they can effect the ability to fall asleep. Milk contains tryptophan, which increases the amount of serotonin a natural sedative. This is why a lot of old folk remedies include warm milk. A banana with milk provides vitamin B6, which helps convert the tryptophan to serotonin. Another fruit to consider is Cherries, which contain melatonin, which the body produces to regulate sleep.

10. If your child has difficulty going to sleep then try relaxation exercises to help your children to get themselves off to sleep more comfortably. For example try

tensing and relaxing each limb / muscle of the body in sequence to teach them how to let go of tension and bring their focus into their body. Also teach them to breath from their

diaphragm by placing you hand on their belly as the breath in and out. This will help them relax more easily. 

Regardless, any disruption tends to be temporary. Most infants and children get back on schedule within 3 days to a week.

Warren Evans, the London bed maker, has teamed up with Belsize Health, the complementary health centre, to bring you national Clocks Go Back Week, running from 21^st to 27^th October.

As part of this week, free, professional advice from holistic practitioners on how to sleep better throughout the autumn and winter months will be available at www.warrenevans.com/blog.