Sep
Articles, Parenting, Teens & Young adults, Toddlers & Pre-school
How much sleep does your child really need?
We’ve all been there before when we say bedtime and the moan starts straight away. “I’m not tired”, “why do we have to go to bed so early”. You can’t help but think the same thing, how much sleep does my child really need?
Getting enough sleep is a really important part of a healthy lifestyle. With all the brain, body, and emotional development going on in the early years of life, our kids need quality sleep.
So how much sleep is enough?
According to a panel of experts from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), here are their recommendations for total daily sleep needs by age (these hours include day naps if applicable).
| Age Range | Recommended Hours of Sleep | |
| Newborn | 0-3 months old | 14-17 hours |
| Infant | 4-11 months old | 12-15 hours |
| Toddler | 1-2 years old | 11-14 hours |
| Preschool | 3-5 years old | 10-13 hours |
| School-age | 6-13 years old | 9-11 hours |
As broad recommendations, an hour more or less may be fine for some children, but if you’re needing to seriously reset some bedtime routines see below for some tips.
Here are the tried-and-tested sleep hacks that work at any age:
- Exercising during the day will help you sleep better at night.
- Don’t drink caffeine for at least 4 hours before bedtime.
- Make the room as dark as possible. If your child needs a little illumination, use a night light that’s not too bright.
- Invest in black-out curtains if you can.
- Try to keep your room temperature a little cooler than warmer, and don’t overheat by piling on the blankets (if you can help it).
- A warm bath before bedtime can really help.
- No bright screens for an hour before bedtime.
- Keep phones out of the bedroom too. Studies have shown that the mere presence and proximity of phones can negatively affect the quality of one’s sleep. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, rather just buy an alarm clock.
- Speaking of clocks, our bodies have an incredibly sensitive internal clock – called the circadian rhythm. We work best (and feel best) when we stick to this rhythm and go to bed and wake up at (roughly) the same time every day (including weekends).
In a previous survey we conducted, half of us Mums indicated that we weren’t getting enough sleep either. If you’re reading this and feeling weary, here’s a quick refresher course on why sleep is such a sound investment…
Prolonged poor sleep is associated with a suppressed immune system and increased risks of cardiac problems, strokes, and diabetes.
Emotionally, a lack of sleep causes a release of higher volumes of cortisol (the stress hormone), which means you’re more inclined to feel anxious and depressed.
Of the many good things that sleep does for brain health, one that’s only recently been brought to light is its amazing detoxing benefits. In 2015, scientists discovered for the first time that our brains have a drainage system, the lymphatic system.
It cleans out the toxic proteins that build up in our brains during the day. During sleep, this system is 60% more effective. Left with too little time to detox, these proteins build up and could possibly lead to Alzheimer’s (with studies showing a large deposit of these proteins present in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains).
That’s it from us – now go get some sleep!
Source: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need
This is helpful honestly. The tips to make kids sleep better are also helpful thank you.
Wow Thank you for this advise, This is one thing i try doing every day with my kids but weekends and let them stay up a bit, school days they must be on the bed by 8 pm but my 6 year old falls asleep quicker but my 7 year old, i have to check and check on her before she finally sleeps. Growing up i was told when you bath the kids it makes them fall asleep easily will not mine😂😊.
i will apply this advise and pray it helps me.
Thank you.
Ok, we have a lot of sleep to catch up on!
Honestly we do 😄
This is one thing i try doing every day with my kids but weekends and let them stay up a bit, school days they must be on the bed by 8 pm but my 6 year old falls asleep quicker but my 7 year old, i have to check and check on her before she finally sleeps. Growing up i was told when you bath the kids it makes them fall asleep easily will not mine😂😊.
i will apply this advise and pray it helps me.
Thank you.
This is an interesting. I’ve been battling to get my 2 and 4 year old to go to bed early at night. My early is 8pm. I’ve been trying to get them to go at least 30 mins earlier. Will definitely implement these hacks.
i have a 6 & 7 year old and its really difficult will try this also
I have a 7 year old daughter, she goes to sleep at about 9pm due to her having to have a snack first because shes diabetic and she wakes up at 6am for school. So i assume this should be enough time for sleep. But she’s always stil tired in the morning! Thank you Mumbox for the continued tips /advice
I have a 3 and 4 year old. And it’s only recently that I have gotten them to enjoy early sleep. However by 5:30 6:00 am they are up daily. The sleeping hacks do work except for the bath, I also find they become alert and sharp. Thank you for the affirmations.
This is a real interesting read for me, having a 6 year old I surely will give the sleep hacks a go. Thank you for the warnings about what lack of sleep can lead to one does not realise the longterm effects. The tips are so useful. Kind Regards “The Stewarts”
This is very interesting and very hard to do. My toddler refuses to sleep unless everyone is going to bed, even then he still plays in bed before dosing off. My eldest (grade 6) also finds it difficult to sleep most of the time and prefers for the room light to be on.
I have accepted that my kids are different , with both of them that myth of after bathing in the evenings they will be sleepy is and was never the case, instead they become very much awake and fresh 🙁
i have trained my kids to sleep at the same time everyday. and now they their bodies just gives in when the clock hit that time. from this article i also see why the mornings are becoming an issue, their age difference and the hours they need to sleep.
I find this interesting and it gives the advice that I need .know I know how much sleep my kids really need for there age group