Before going to bed, the child should not overwork.
Photo: Alexey BULATOV
The morning begins with “getting” the student out of bed. And then it costs him in the classroom: lack of sleep affects the effectiveness of learning, the assimilation of information, the physical and emotional state of the child
Although many schoolchildren look almost like adults, at age 10 they still need about 10 hours of sleep a day. Elena Muradova, director of the BabySleep Center for Sleep and Child Development, a mother of three school-age children, talks about helping a child get enough sleep.
– It would seem that scientists have calculated the average age sleep norms, but in fact, each child has his own individual norm. Someone 7-10 years old needs 9.5-10 hours of sleep, and someone may need 11. Every day! If a child does not get enough sleep every day, even a little, then on Friday the lack of sleep accumulates, on weekends he sleeps late and falls asleep even later at night. And Monday will start again with a lack of sleep, – explains Elena Muradova.
So what to do to learn how to fall asleep correctly in order to get enough sleep?
1. Balance the load: maybe no circles?
In order to go to bed earlier, it is necessary not to come home late and do homework. This applies to schoolchildren of all ages (yes, the parents of teenagers now grunted sadly). Choosing the right daily routine for a child means taking into account her individual abilities and balancing the load of school, homework, extracurricular activities, circles and sections.
A first grader is recommended a minimum load. Starting school is a huge stress in itself. Information flow, new environment, strict rules. Sometimes it is worth completely abandoning the circles in the first grade. As the child grows older, it will be easier to cope with the load, she will be able to play sports, English and chess, but not all in one day, of course.
Try to make a schedule so that the child after school has at least an hour of free time to relax, lie down in the twilight and silence, just dream.
2. Rest before going to bed: no loud noises, except for audio fairy tales.
It is difficult for a child who is carried away by the game to be distracted and fall asleep. Before going to bed, it is important to “slow down”, calm down and relax. Start getting ready for bed about an hour before you go to bed. Turn off the bright lights, mute the sounds, discuss with your child the plans for tomorrow and the impressions of the day before, read aloud or close, everyone with their own book, remember that it is time to brush your teeth and put on your pajamas . .
And in bed you can listen to audio fairy tales. For the old man: some things from the children’s encyclopedia. It is important that there is enough time for all this. Saturated with attention from him, a calm and relaxed child will fall asleep more easily.
3. Get a gadget box. For the entire family!
The subject of disputes between children and parents is the telephone. It seems that if the child calmly goes to bed with the phone, then she is resting. But his brain is actively working and very tense, processing the incoming information. It is even fashionable for teenagers not to sleep, classmates sitting in chat rooms during the middle of the night. But even at 14 years old, a child needs 9 to 10 hours of sleep every day. Laziness and “character” are not necessarily to blame for poor grades and negative mood, often the reason is lack of sleep.
The fact is that the light from the screen destroys the “sleep hormone” – melatonin. And the level of rest, reaction and other cognitive functions the next day directly depends on your level. The sooner the child falls asleep, the more melatonin is produced. Well, the overexcitement of communicating with friends will also not allow you to fall asleep normally.
If you require the child to put down the phone and continue to “sit” on it, then this is unlikely to lead to a result. The rule will help: at a certain time, everyone puts down their phones, goes to finish things up, and gets ready for bed. If this is followed by all family members, there will be much less conflict.
4. Talk to your child. And watch movies together.
Talk to your child about the importance of sleep. Watch an educational movie about sleeping together, conduct experiments (try to go to bed an hour earlier for a week, see if it will be easier to control), teach him to listen to his feelings, how the amount of sleep affects his mood and well-being
5. It is important to learn to wake up alone.
A sleepy person wakes up alone. If you have to constantly wake up the child, it means that she is most likely not getting enough sleep. To do? Go to bed earlier at night. The norm of sleep is 10 hours, to get up for school at 7 in the morning, which means that you need to fall asleep no later than 21 hours (by the way, it is during this period that the greatest amount of melatonin is produced ).
The question of “when to go to bed” remains the responsibility of the parents. The child is not yet able to plan the day and follow the regimen. Help him sleep!
And gradually teach him to pay attention to how sleep affects his state: “Yesterday I slept little and I felt worse, but today I slept well and in the morning I am in a good mood.” If you can’t solve your sleep problems on your own, a sleep consultant can help.
BY THE WAY
Also cherry juice and chamomile tea.
There are also certain “sleepy” potions without any chemistry. Some call it warm milk with a little honey.
But British researchers raved about cherry juice. Contains a plant analogue of the hormone melatonin. According to several studies, people who were given a glass of cherry juice before bed for two weeks had a 30% reduction in the time it took them to fall asleep.
Chamomile tea is also great. It does not contain the plant substance apigenin, which has a mild hypnotic effect, but is not addictive, unlike chemical sleep aids. A glass of chamomile tea a couple of hours before bedtime and your child will be calm and want to go to bed alone. Check it out!
Chinese scientists conducted another interesting study on the effect of kiwi on a healthy body. Some substances in the hairy fruit affect the production of serotonin, the joy hormone, which helps the production of melatonin. That is, the more joy in life, the stronger the dream. No wonder insomnia is a sign of depression.
Also, a banana or a piece of cheese will help calm down if you eat them 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. The main thing is not to send the child to sleep hungry, then he will definitely not fall asleep.
