About the Author
Hi, my name is Dayna Zaik, and I am a Sleep Consultant for children as well as an Early Childhood Educator who has spent my career working with children and supporting the needs of their parents.
While the majority of my clients are parents with children under the age of five, the truth is that sleep hygiene is critical to older children and teenagers. This is why I wanted to discuss sleep's affect on learning.
What is Sleep?
Sleep is a complete state of reduced mental and physical activity. It is where our bodies take the opportunity to repair and rejuvenate cells, organs, and muscles. It is where our minds relax, process new information, rid themselves of toxic waste and reorganize. Sleep supports healthy brain function as cells repair while the body restores energy.
The body does such amazing things for us, not only while we’re awake but also when we sleep. In fact, our immune system depends on sleep. It helps us fend off illnesses faster and at times, helps us avoid illness all together.
Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity!
What Causes Us To Sleep and Stay Wake?
There are two hormones which play a critical role on our bodies ability to sleep: melatonin and cortisol.
Melatonin production increases in the evening and causes us to get tired, fall asleep, and stay asleep throughout the night. Darkness helps increase and maintain melatonin production
Cortisol, the stress hormone, is produced in the early morning and flows through our brain all day, keeping us awake and alert.
Without melatonin, we would not sleep. Without cortisol, we would not be able to stay awake.
Let’s Talk About Melatonin
Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland. This gland lets in light and darkness. It is the melatonin-secreting neuroendocrine organ containing light sensitive cells that control the circadian rhythm. Without the pineal gland, your body wouldn’t be able to sleep or wake at the same time. Your body would also struggle to respond between changes in light levels. So maintaining a consistent schedule is key for a healthy pineal gland.
Some healthy foods that contain melatonin are:
eggs
fish
nuts
tart cherries
goji berries
milk
For animal food, Eggs and fish have some of the highest levels, whereas nuts contain the highest amounts of melatonin in plant-based foods.
Tart cherry juice also contains melatonin, and is regarded by some as an effective sleep aid. The following also contain melatonin:
mushrooms
cereals
germinated legumes
seeds
Aside from bright light, the color of light can also prevent melatonin production.
Which light color do you think is the worst?
That’s right, BLUE light!
Blue light actually blocks the production of melatonin. Where is blue light illuminated from?
TVs
cell phones
Ipads/tablets
light bulbs
computers
Blue light is found in fluorescent and LED lights, even when they appear white.
While lights during the day, whether at home or in the classroom, are not going to hinder your melatonin production, continuing to use bright lights on any of the devices listed above right before bed will.
This also includes night lights. So, what color is best?
RED light.
Removing screen time one hour or more before bed will allow for that melatonin to
produce quicker and more efficiently.
What’s better than screen time before bed, getting outside for a nice walk in the fresh air, catching the dimming sun and setting that circadian clock.
What is a Circadian Clock or Circadian Rhythm?
Your sleep-wake circadian rhythm is an internal clock (circadian clock) that runs
constantly. It cycles between alertness and sleepiness. It’s what helps our bodies regulate sleep patterns.
This is where having a consistent bedtime routine and schedule come in very handy.
Keeping your body on a regular wake up time and regular bedtime, will help regulate your circadian rhythm. Eventually, you will internally set the circadian clock where you will naturally wake and be ready for bed at a regular time.
But what happens if we don’t have a consistent schedule?
We can fall into being overtired.
And what happens when we’re overtired?
Our brains will not function well. We may experience “brain fog”. This is where we tend to not pay as much attention to detail, forget things, and have difficulty concentrating.
Something very common, especially with children, is that when we become overtired, we may experience nightmares or night terrors.
The Difference Between Nightmare & Night Terror
Both nightmares and night terrors can be caused from being overtired, but their are key differences.
Nightmares tend to focus on something disturbing, like a threat to safety, resulting in our bodies fight, flight, or freeze response. Such dreams might lead to a pounding heart, sweat, and difficulty falling asleep. Nightmares are often remembered.
Night Terrors, on the other hand, can result in more more intense symptoms, such as a flushed face and heavy breathing. Those who experience a night terror may be inconsolable, yet often have no memory of the event once they are fully awake.
Nightmares usually occur during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of our sleep cycle whereas night terrors tend to occur during a deeper stage of sleep known as stage 3.
What are Sleep Stages?
Sleep happens in 2 cycles. A sleep cycle can last anywhere from 90 to 110 minutes.
There is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, this stage happens after the first hour of
sleep but before the second hour. This is your first stage of sleep. It’s usually when you have vivid dreams.
Then there is NON-REM sleep. It has 3 stages, the last 2 stages are where you’re in a
deep sleep and hard to wake up.
What happens in REM-sleep?
This is where your brain activity picks up pace again. You may experience faster
breathing, increased heart rate and blood pressure and rapid eye movement. As night progresses, you have more REM-sleep. Most of the time we are able to self soothe and fall back asleep, so any wake ups during this time can be less memorable.
What happens during NON-REM sleep?
Stage 1: Everything slows down (muscles, eye movement, etc). If you were woken up,
you may not even know you had been sleeping.
Stage 2: Your heart rate slows, your body temperature drops and your body prepares for deep sleep.
Stage 3: This is deep sleep, everything is relaxed, you’re harder to wake up and if you are woken, you may feel groggy.
During this time your body builds bone and muscle, repairs and regenerates tissues and strengthens your immune system.
Being able to get these good, well rested sleep cycles, involve having a well established circadian rhythm, with a good production of melatonin and a healthy sleep foundation.
What is a Sleep Foundation?
A healthy sleep foundation is establishing a bedtime routine, a bedtime, self-soothing abilities, expectations around bedtime and a desired sleep environment.
Here are some important elements for a healthy sleep environment:
blackout curtains
noise machine (especially for younger children)
cooler temperature then the rest of the house
appropriate sleep wear/blankets
An Appropriate Daytime Schedule
For children 6 and older, an appropriate schedule during the school could look like this:
6-7am: Wake up
7-8am: Breakfast, get ready for school, pack backpack
9am-3:30pm: Most children are in school and run on the school schedule
4-5pm: Homework with the opportunity to get outside one last time
5-6pm: Dinner
7pm: Start bedtime routine
8pm: Bedtime
During summer months, something more along the lines of:
6-7am: Wake up
9am: Outdoor time
10am: Activities/academics
11am: Creativity
12pm: Lunch
1pm: Quiet time
2pm: Screen time
3pm: Snack
4pm: Outdoor time
5-6pm: Dinner
7pm: Start bedtime routine
8pm: Bedtime
It is important to stick to the same schedule during summer break as you would during the school year. This helps keep the circadian rhythm functioning the same and melatonin producing at the correct times.
A simple bedtime routine to follow could be:
bath
pajamas
snack
book
brush teeth
bathroom break
into bed
Some good sleep habits are:
daily exercise, stimulation, outdoor time, play time, etc
having a good sleep schedule
quiet activities before bed
good sleep environment
How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?
Children are all so very different. Some children need more sleep, whereas others need a little less. Here is a guide of how much sleep a child might need by age.
6 – 12 years old: 9-12 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period
13 – 18 years old: 8-12 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period
So you can adjust your typical schedule to meet the needs of your child by age. It is
understandable that most children have extracurricular activities throughout the year. This is where I highly recommend choosing activities wisely and sticking to 1 or 2 per year or season. Filling your child’s schedule full of stimulation and finding there be a lack of sleep, can be detrimental to their overall well being.
Having a full plate can cause that cortisol to rise and last longer, making the melatonin production start later, meaning your child may have a hard time falling asleep at bedtime. This will become a constant cycle and your child can end up in sleep debt.
Sleep debt is not something we can get back or catch up on. When we lose sleep, it’s gone forever.
Sleep is an important element for a healthy functioning body.
Sleep and Education
So, how does sleep link in with learning and education?
Getting the proper amount of sleep and having quality sleep is what’s going to help our children retain information, be alert and ready to learn, have healthy functioning brains and bodies, be able to regulate social and emotional skills, over-all mood will be better, their interests in learning will increase, their imaginations and creativity will flow more naturally, in addition to other benefits.
As parents, our focus shouldn't be so much on when school starts, so much as ensuring our children can wake up, attend school on time, and be ready to learn. Our role in ensuring successful learning is helping them create appropriate bedtime schedules, setting boundaries around sleep, and getting them to set their circadian clock accordingly.
This will help prepare them for adulthood where their may require them to start early. In other words, parents can model the skills they will need to use independently later in life.
While we should strive to start as young as we can to ensure our children are sleeping well, it’s also never too late to re-evaluate your sleep situation and start fresh.
-Dayna Zaik
Dayna has spent over twenty years working with and studying children and their families. As a sleep consultant, she has a passion for helping parents create sleep plans, individually tailored to the needs of each child. If you'd like to know more about Dayna's work, you can visit her website and book a free call through her website: https://dayandnightsleep.ca/