Hot weather and sleep don’t really mix and if its bad for us, think about how it feels for the little ones? Here are a few tips to help your children sleep during our current heatwave.
- Keep blinds and curtains closed during the day to stop direct sunlight from entering the room and overheating.
- If you’re using fans, place bowls of ice in front of them to get cooler air circulating around the room.
- For those of you with air conditioning, make sure to add some humidity back into the room with a diffuser or humidifier.
- For young children, try making milk ice pops for a quick, cool drink during the night.
- Similarly, if it is hot, babies, in particular, will be more thirsty during the night and will need more feeds, try not to put this off as they can easily dehydrate in a hot room.
- Consider pushing bedtime back until it is naturally cooler
- Rather than putting your child to bed in just their nappy or underwear in hot weather, make sure they are wearing a thin vest or shorts, strangely this helps regulate body temperature more than wearing nothing at all.
- Give them a warm bath before bed, it sounds strange but it will actually cause the body to work harder to keep cool and help them sleep better.
- Try to create a cross breeze by keeping interior doors and windows open, this way air will move easier around the house and help with sleep. If you have a loft, you can also open this so hot air can escape upwards.
Hopefully, with these tips, you can ensure your child gets a good night’s sleep as this hot spell continues!
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