Sleep Tight Magical Knight

Description

Meditation before sleep can help young children get to sleep. Going off to sleep and staying asleep is often the most challenging aspect of parenting. Not only do children need a certain amount of quality sleep for growth, development, and well-being, but parents also need their quotient of sleep, so that they are the best version of themselves in the morning! So why is sleep so important, how much sleep do young children really need and what are some of the common issues around getting enough sleep?

Sleep is super important for young children as it restores them physically. During a busy day of playing, learning, and concentrating, children’s bodies and minds become tired and in need of rest. When they sleep their bodies recuperate from the previous day’s activities, they remember things that enhances learning, and they grow with the help of growth hormone which is produced at night. During periods of rapid growth or growth spurts, children will require more sleep to keep up with their development! Sleep also boosts a child’s immunity so that they are able to fight off infections and illness.

Using meditation to help sleep is a gentle practice you can start as soon as your child is born. Now that we know why sleep is so important for young children, let’s look at how much sleep the Raising Children Network recommends each age group needs:

• Newborns – 3 months
  • newborns sleep on and off throughout both day and night
  • sleep duration or cycles range from 20 – 50min
  • around 3 months of age, babies tend to sleep for longer at night, still waking at least once
  • at this age, babies will be having 2 – 3 sleeps during the day
• 6 – 12 months
  • around this age, babies can sleep up to 6 hours a night, still waking anywhere between 1 -4 times
  • normally day sleeps will be slightly longer
  • many parents report their child has the most difficulty sleeping around this age
• Toddlers 1 – 3 years
  • require between 11 – 13 hours of sleep
  • this is often made up of 11 – 12 hours at night and a day sleep of 1 – 2 hours
• Pre-schoolers 3 – 5 years
  • require between 11 – 13 hours of sleep, mostly occurring at night
  • some pre-schoolers will still have a day nap lasting up to an hour
• Young children 5 – 8 years:
  • require 10 – 11 hours of sleep
• Young children 9 – 11 years
  • require 9 – 11 hours of sleep
• Teenagers
  • generally require between 8 – 10 hours of sleep a night
  • changes in their internal body clock often mean teenagers go to bed later and subsequently wake later

There are many reasons why some babies and children find it difficult to sleep. For very young babies their tummies are small and they wake frequently for feeds. They may start fretting because they are separated from their parents and carers, or are unable to self-settle, which will cause them to wake and need help going back to sleep. Cheeky, fun-loving toddlers may not want to miss out on anything the rest of the family is doing, or may constantly call out for things or get in and out of bed for hours! Pre-schoolers around the age of 4 years can develop night terrors and nightmares. These are different and happen at different times of the night. Night terrors happen in the first half of the night when your child is in the deepest sleep. During a night terror, your child is actually asleep and won’t have any recollection in the morning. Nightmares on the other hand are due to the developing imagination in this age group and will wake your child up during the second half of the night. Getting your little one back to sleep after a nightmare can be challenging and they will generally remember the details in the morning. A meditation to fall asleep at this time can be quite reassuring and comforting.

Oh for a full night’s sleep!  If your child is struggling with sleeping, perhaps from those awful nightmares, this meditation before sleep might be beneficial.

Enjoy!