Sensory overload!
Christmas is a glittering, beautiful, and memorable time for children. However, younger babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers are often surrounded by a sensory overload of lights, colours, and family members pulling at their cheeks during social gatherings.
I remember that excitement and anticipation of a visit from Father Christmas on Christmas eve! So much fun to be had waking up on Christmas morning and celebrating Christmas day around the Christmas tree with the whole family. Like I used to be, you may have some very excited kids!
Bedtime at Christmas
However, after a really busy day, probably a later bedtime and a lack of sleep. Your little one may experience more than just excitement. Christmas festivities can also lead to other overwhelming feelings for your little one such as anxiety, sadness, confusion, and hyperactivity.
Each of these emotions can affect their ability to unwind and fall asleep at a reasonable time, they may resist or delay bedtime meaning going to bed may be difficult and potentially cause some late nights and over-tiredness.
In short, bedtime routine is always king. There’s a lot to be said for the helpfulness of a warm bath, white noise, relaxing play before bed, and limiting screen time on the run up to bedtime. Whatever your bedtime routine is at home, this remains one constant in their days when so much else changes. Make more time for it, not less.
As you read on, keep this in mind: Allow your little one a little more time and space for enjoying the festivities and for them to be special. Yes the daily routine may suffer, but if you’ve had a great routine up to this point and your child has always slept well then you’ll get back on track when the Christmas period is over. Most importantly, ENJOY!
Top 10 Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep
So let’s get started! These 10 tips should help.
#1. Tuck Them in When They Start to Feel Sleepy
If your little one is napping still, build in time for a longer nap-time wind down. If you follow wake-windows, then they may not last quite so long with so much going on.
At the first sign that their movements are slowing down, they become a bit ‘starey eyed’ or they get a bit fidgety retreat into their bedroom or a darker, quieter environment. Here, you can read a short bedtime story, sing a soft nursery rhyme, or a cuddle to ease them into thinking about sleep.
#2. Allow Them to Fall Asleep Without Distraction
If you can get away with it, avoid any festive lighting or decorations in their bedroom. Keep the space plain, dark and quiet. This is the ideal environment for your baby to sleep and chill out with minimal distractions for sleep.
#3. Be Cautious of Food Before Bed
Keep an eye on what they’re eating close to nap and bedtime. There’s an abundance of high sugar foods over Christmas and I’m definitely not saying to avoid it altogether (that would just be ridiculous!) but think of when it’s eaten.
Sugary foods like chocolate can contain caffeine and sweets are a stimulant. Even carbonated drinks can contain caffeine. When eaten and drunk in excess, they can hinder wind-down and cause trouble sleeping. If you can avoid them in the run up to bed, perhaps capping them off mid afternoon, all the better.
#4. Be More Active During the Day
Plan lots of active games and fresh air throughout the day to burn off the excitement (and extra calories) that comes with the holidays. A stroll around Knole park is magical at this time of year.
Play quieter family games closer to sleep or nap time. This way, you don’t have to take them all the way from hero to zero before they climb into bed!
#5. Talk About the Day
If they’re old enough, talk through their day (the best bits and the bad bits) as you do bath time and other nighttime routine activities.
This helps them process their emotions so they’re not lying in bed too excited or worried about something that happened during the day. These unresolved emotions can hinder them falling asleep.
#6. Embrace the Early Mornings
Be prepared for an early start for a couple of days, especially on Christmas Day as they begin to feel excited! Cortisol levels in the body rise during the early morning hours. If your child wakes then, their melatonin (the sleepy hormone) will be wearing off, and it may be difficult for them to fall asleep again – especially with all the excitement!
If it’s far too early, enter the bedroom to try and settle. Be very quiet and tell them it’s still nighttime in hushed tones, be nighttime mummy/daddy. If they really won’t go back to sleep then try to keep it darker in the house with some quiet activities to start the day until 6AM. This will help the body clock stay where it is and not shift to any early (ever-lasting) patterns!
#7. Manage “Overtiredness”
Manage overtiredness by acting on the first sight of a sleepy little one! These can include a slowing in your child’s behaviour, becoming emotional, or growing fidgety. These may present themselves a lot earlier than usual if there is a lot of Christmas excitement.
Some children may just need a little more ‘quiet time’ than others away from the festivities. Toddlers and pre-schoolers who aren’t napping nay more may need some quiet time with a book on their bed in the middle of the day to rest and recharge for round 2 in the afternoon!
#8. Adjust Bedtime Hours
Don’t hesitate to begin bedtime at an earlier hour. You may also want to extend their bedtime routine to allow them extra time to settle and calm before bed.
These adjustments are necessary when their days are just so full and may cause them to tire out quicker or remain wide awake longer. This will also help avoid a second-wind!
#9. Patience is Key
Remember that it takes an average of 20 minutes for a child to fall asleep (on a good day!) as they process their thoughts and wind down. It’s also important to note that that number applies to an average day, not an exciting day or the build up to a potential visit from Father Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Allow your child a bit of extra time to drop off at bedtime and for naps and they should be on their way to a good night’s sleep. So stop worrying if it’s been half an hour and they still haven’t drifted off to sleep – that’s normal!
#10. Build in Buffers Between Festivities
The most important thing is to allow your child to soak up all the holiday fun and excitement possible by building in buffers.
These buffers allow for the child to remain awake and alert during important festive experiences and can include extending the bedtime routine or modifying activity levels. By doing this, you will give them the best chance of catching more sleep during the holidays.
About Gemma
Gemma is an infant and child sleep specialist based in Sevenoaks. As well as running her own sleep consultancy, Gemma is a Sleep Expert for Ergobaby, Huckleberry and has been featured in the Huffpost and The Sun.
You can follow Gemma (@childsleepspecialist) or contact her via her website www.childsleepspecialist.co.uk.
You can view her Business Directory Listing here.
