RESETTING YOUR CHILD'S CIRCADIAN RHYTHM

Some children struggle to fall asleep, whereas others rise at dawn, seemingly no matter what. We discuss the factors that imbalance your little one’s internal clock and what you can do to reset it.

Between work constraints, the sunlight and length of darkness available in your region, seasonal shifts, caffeine intake, screen exposure, stress levels and long standing habits, it can take time to really figure out what naturally suits you best when it comes to sleep. Many of us are well into adulthood before we feel we have reached a consistent grasp of good quality, restful sleep.

CHRONOTYPES

Science now tells us that we all have an inherent *chronotype', a natural time that our particular body is more prone to sleep and wake at. Some of us are "night owls', preferring to stay up later into the night and sleep in a little longer the next day, whereas others are 'larks', those that can happily snooze away from 9pm and get up with the birds, before everyone else.

Studies suggest that only about 10 percent of people are true 'larks', those who feel most normal when sleeping from 9pm to 5am. On the other hand, less than 15 percent are real owls', for whom sleeping from 2am to 10am feels fully natural. The majority of us fall somewhere in between the two.

CHILDREN AND SLEEP

It adds a whole other dynamic to the situation to not only have to deal with your own sleeping habits and chronotype, but also grapple with your child's sleep habits, particularly if it's at odds with yours or your family's.

Some parents struggle to get their little one to sleep before 10pm while others have such early birds at home that the sun is barely up when they spring out of bed and nothing appears to keep them asleep any longer. However, there are some great ways to help shift their schedule towards something a little more workable for your household.

How much sleep does my child need?