Understanding your child’s circadian rhythms

 Do you have difficulties getting your child up in the mornings? Knowing that your child may not be getting sufficient sleep is worrying.

Sleep is a vital process for children, especially regarding memory consolidation. The transfer of short-term memories happens during sleep. Everything your child learns during the day is moved to a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Memories stored in the hippocampus can be retrieved when called upon in the future.

The rest, repair, and memory cycle during sleep are beneficial not just for our children but for all of us, and understanding this can help you make informed decisions about your child's sleep habits.

We each have an internal 'body clock' known as the circadian clock. This clock creates daily rhythms for sleeping, eating, and being active during a twenty-four-hour day cycle. By aligning your child's routine with their natural circadian rhythm, you can help them achieve their best performance each day and get the most out of each school day.

Factors that govern our circadian rhythm start in the morning with daylight. We have light sensors that pick up this morning light and create a level of alertness—getting ready for the day ahead. The morning light is said to have more blue light frequencies—blue light is a signal to the body for a level of activity. But importantly, receiving this blue light input in the morning signals to the body's main central clock that it is the start of the daily cycle.

Children must eat a substantial meal to start the day after being asleep for eight hours (or more, depending on their age). Eating times are another critical factor affecting optimum learning performance. The last meal should be around three to four hours before bed. Having a break after eating the last meal signals to the circadian clock that the night-time activities the brain and body need to do can start ahead of going to sleep.

Premature babies and circadian rhythms

Research shows that preterm babies who spend their early lives in Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are known to have poorly adjusted circadian clocks. Exposure to constant bright light means that these newborns find it difficult to naturally wind down when it gets dark once they are well enough to leave the hospital. Early excessive light exposure, in turn, impacts their feeding, growth, learning, and general development. Many children with ADHD also show the same symptoms.

Sleep Hygiene

Is your child getting enough daylight in the mornings? Walking for around twenty minutes in the morning (to school) is a way to ensure that your child is getting enough blue light, even on overcast days. Electronic devices also emit blue light, so they should have the blue light sensor switched off if used in the evening. Illuminating the desk instead of the room is considered gentler on the eyes in the evening.

Generally, evening lighting should be warmer, especially in your child's bedroom, upstairs landing and bathroom. Warmer lighting in your child's bedroom triggers the hormone for sleep production, melatonin. Sometimes, children want to get up at night to drink water or use the bathroom. Having a glass of water next to the bed and warm light in the bathroom means they are not overstimulated at a time when they should be resting.

Excessive light exposure when children are supposed to be sleeping triggers the wake cycle, and the child needs to restart their sleep cycle from the beginning. 

The eating cycle

While all children have different eating patterns and needs, being strict with the day's last meal is critical. If your child has had sufficient time after eating and going to bed, their core body temperature is reduced, which is another trigger for the body to go into sleep mode. When children find it challenging to wake up in the morning, the more significant the gap between the last meal and going to sleep, the more the food is entirely digested, and it feels natural to wake up because they are hungry. Having undigested food from a late-night meal indicates to the body's circadian clock that more sleep is needed to finish digestion. Being forced to wake up when a child's body is not ready to do so makes it challenging.

The Circadian Code by Dr Sachin Panda is a book worth reading, especially for busy working parents. Understanding our circadian rhythm is essential for all adults not just parents. Making small tweaks can have a huge impact of our overall wellbeing.Heading H2 - repeated from

Dyslexia? Dyspraxia? ADHD? ASD? Speech & Language? Developmental Delay? Anxiety?

Is every school day a struggle? As a parent, you may feel exhausted and on this journey alone. Each year you see the gap getting wider. You need to do something - change the approach, help your child learn for themselves, find a way to turn this around - to help while you can - do this NOW. the first step is free.