Creating a Consistent Bedtime Routine: Key Benefits for Children

If you wanted to pick one strategy that would help your child sleep better, based on the research, starting a bedtime routine may be the one to try. According to a study by Mindell (2009), when used by itself without any other interventions, children who received 3-weeks of a nightly bedtime routine had significant improvements in falling asleep faster, as well as fewer and shorter overnight awakenings. In a more recent study, Lam (2023) extended this research by showing that a nightly bedtime routine not only improves sleep health, but also improves social-emotional skills and behavioral outcomes in toddlers. But what exactly goes into a bedtime routine to make it work? Continue reading for the components of an effective bedtime routine that you can start tonight.

Components of an Effective Bedtime Routine

In order to be effective, a bedtime routine must be consistently implemented over time. Our circadian clocks, located inside our brains, are highly attuned to cues in the environment that signal it is time to go to sleep. Over time, when we complete the same routine in the same order every night, our brains will start signaling our bodies to begin preparing for sleep at the onset of the bedtime routine, making it easier to fall asleep quickly upon getting into bed.

Additionally, in order to be effective a bedtime routine must be calming. Activities that are highly alerting to the nervous system such as jumping on a trampoline or running around will raise our core temperature at a time where it should be lowering, leading to difficulty falling asleep. The impact of screens in the bedtime routine can also prevent our bodies from calming and preparing for bed. Many studies have demonstrated that exposure to blue light (the light emitted from our screens) can delay the release of melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, with some studies suggesting that blue-light exposure affects sleep quality by reducing the ratio of deep sleep (Ishizawa, 2021).

Tips for Consistency

• Make bedtime about the same time every night.

• Complete the bedtime routine in the same order every night.

• Use a visual schedule to help stay on track.

• Practice parts of the schedule that your child struggles with during the day to get more learning opportunities.

Tips for Calming

• Keep the bedtime routine screen-free if possible (Check out 75 Screen-Free Activities for ideas)

• If screen free isn't possible, opt for passive engagement (e.g. tv) over active engagement (e.g. tablet, video game).

• Turn down lights/minimize loud noises.

• Replace active play with calming leisure skills like puzzles, coloring, or stringing beads.

• During the day, teach and practice what having a "calm body" looks like and the actions to take to get there (e.g. deep breathing, stretching, getting a hug)

Be Gentle With Yourself

Consistency does not mean that if you miss one night your child's sleep is doomed. Life happens all the time. Kids get sick. They stay up late at grandma and grandpa's house. You go on vacation. All of these things are normal and ok. Please don't beat yourself up. When you and your child are ready, just come back to the routine that was working for you. And if the old routine was not working for you, change it up! It may take a few weeks, but over time with consistent implementation, you should begin to see your child benefit from falling asleep faster and having less overnight awakenings. Might as well start tonight, right?

References

Mindell JA, Telofski LS, Wiegand B, Kurtz ES. A nightly bedtime routine: impact on sleep in young children and maternal mood. Sleep. 2009 May;32(5):599-606. doi: 10.1093/sleep/32.5.599. PMID: 19480226; PMCID: PMC2675894.

Lam JTY, Williamson AA, Salih Z, Heere M and Mindell JA (2023) Bedtime routines, development, and caregiver educational attainment in toddlerhood. Front. Sleep 2:1197297. doi: 10.3389/frsle.2023.1197297

Masao Ishizawa, Takuya Uchiumi, Miki Takahata, Michiyasu Yamaki, Toshiaki Sato,

Effects of pre-bedtime blue-light exposure on ratio of deep sleep in healthy young men,

Sleep Medicine, Volume 84, 2021.