With the new school year right around the corner it is important to take a look at your child’s sleep routine. A lack of proper sleep can affect your child both physically (being unable to stay awake during class) and psychologically (being irritable during the day). Insufficient sleep can impair a child’s learning and academic performance and adequate sleep is a vital part of your child’s healthy growth and development. Proper sleep has even been shown to improve children’s peer acceptance, social skills, and engagement, and emotional intuition. Therefore, it is important to prepare for the upcoming school season by getting into healthy sleep habits.

Here are some tips for preparing your child for proper sleep:

Bedtime Routine: A simple yet effective tip is to create a night time routine for your child. This may include a warm bath or a bedtime story but whatever your rituals are, it is important that you continue them. This helps prepare your child by calming them down and getting them ready for sleep.

Limit Screen Time: Do not have screen time 1 hour before bed.

Better Nutrition for Better Sleep: Incorporate good protein and healthy fats with your child’s meals to help balance blood sugar, which will help balance cortisol, the stress hormone. Also, keep sugars low. Sugar is very stimulating to the nervous system and can make it very hard to calm down and relax for sleep.

Stress Management: Have active, open communication with your child about anything that might be bothering them. Speaking about things that are bothering them may help them get to sleep at night if they no longer have those things to worry about. Exercise and living an active lifestyle can also help your child manage stress and promote relaxation later on at night.

Herbal and Supplementation Remedies: Try teas with chamomile, lavender, lemon balm or passion flower. Herbal bathes with lavender may also be beneficial to help promote relaxation. Another great supplement to include is magnesium. It is gentle and relaxing for the nervous system while being safe for children. Be sure to check with your health care professional for the correct dosage. You can also use magnesium in a bath by incorporating Epsom salts which contain magnesium.