Screen time affects childrens sleep
Your child needs enough good-quality sleep so they can play, learn, and concentrate during the day. Screen time and digital technology use can affect how quickly your child falls asleep and how long your child sleeps. This happens for several reasons:
- Screen time in the hour before bed can stimulate your child.
- Light from televisions, computer screens, phones, and iPads might suppress melatonin levels and delay sleepiness.
- Your child might be tempted to stay up late to chat with friends or play online.
- Your child might be disturbed in the night by notifications, messages, or calls.
- Avoid digital technology use in the hour before bedtime. This includes mobile phones, iPads, and computer screens. Encourage reading or quiet play instead.
- Limit and monitor violent content at any time. This can affect sleep regardless of the time and length of use.
- Encourage your child to connect with friends during the day rather than late in the evening.
- Encourage your child to replace daytime screen time with outdoor physical activity or play. This can improve sleep at night.
- Have a family rule that mobile phones and other devices are left in a family room overnight
How much sleep do children need?
If you're concerned about how much sleep your child is getting, it can help to know that children need less sleep as they get older, but teenagers still need more sleep than adults:
- Preschooler 2 needs: children aged 3-5 years need 10-13 hours of sleep a night.
- School-age children aged 5-11 years need 9-11 hours of sleep every night.
Why sleep is important for children aged 5-11 years
When your child sleeps well, your child will be settled, happy, and ready for school the next day. That’s because good-quality sleep helps your child concentrate, remember things, manage emotions, and behave well. This all helps your child learn well. Getting enough sleep is also important for your child's health. That's because it strengthens your child's immune system and reduces the risk of infection and illness.
Sleep: what to expect at 5-11 years
At 5-11 years, children need 9-11 hours of sleep a night. For example, if your child wakes up for school at 7 a.m. and needs approximately 10 hours of sleep per night, your child should be in bed before 9 p.m. Some children fall deeply asleep very quickly when they go to bed. Others sleep lightly, fidgeting and muttering for up to 20 minutes, before getting into deep sleep. Children have different kinds of sleep during the night. The first few hours of sleep are usually the deepest. Most dreams happen in the second half of the night.
How to help children sleep well
A good night’s sleep is about getting to sleep, staying asleep, and getting enough good-quality sleep. Here are ideas that can help your child get the sleep they need.
Bedtime routine
A bedtime routine is very important at this age. It helps your child wind down from the day. For example, a child who normally goes to bed at 7.30 might have a bedtime routine that looks like this:
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6.45 pm: Put on pyjamas, brush teeth, go to the toilet
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7.15 pm: quiet time in the bedroom with a book and a bedtime story or quiet chat.
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7.30 pm: Goodnight and lights out.
After a big day at school, your child might still be thinking about the day's events and worries. If your child's mind is still busy at bedtime, it can cause a restless night or bad dreams. You can help your child by making time for calm, quiet activities in your child’s bedtime routine. For example, you could play music, read a story together, or encourage your child to have a bath before bed.
Good daytime and night-time habits for better sleep
These habits might help your child sleep better:-
Keep regular sleep and wake times, even on the weekend.
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Turn computers, iPads, and TV off an hour before bedtime
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Have a quiet and dimly lit place to sleep.
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Get plenty of natural light during the day, especially in the morning
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Avoid caffeine in tea, coffee, sports drinks, and chocolate, especially in the late afternoon and evening.