5 steps to create a good sleep environment

Do you want to make changes to improve your child’s sleep but you’re not too sure where to start? 

Creating a good sleep environment is one of the key elements for healthy sleep foundations. Here are 5 simple steps you can take:

1 - Cool Environment

19 to 22 degrees is the ideal temperature to promote healthy sleep.

2- Dark Room

Blackout curtains are your new best friend! For naps and bedtime. For naps as well? Yes, ideally the room is as dark and boring as possible so if your child wakes up, she can’t get distracted. 

How to know if it’s dark enough? Stay in the room with the curtains closed for 10 minutes, can you see your hand in front of you? Then it’s not dark enough :) What about the smoke alarm light? You can cover this and the monitor light with electric tape.

3- White Noise

White noise is ideal and should be on throughout the night and naps. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not setting it louder than 50 decibels*. There are multiple Apps available that can help you check the volume. The white noise machine I use and recommend is portable which is great if you need to do some naps on the go, and its battery can last for days.

4 - Cot

“It is recommended that infants sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed, but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for at least the first 6 months”**. Please ensure there’s nothing on the cot, including blankets or bumpers as they can become a hazard.

5- Appropriate sleep clothing

Children are not able to properly cover themselves with a duvet until they’re approximately 3 years old, therefore the use of sleeping bags is ideal to ensure your child will be cozy all night and prevent night wakings. Sleeping bags can also be very helpful in preventing your child from climbing out of the cot!

Let me know how it goes! :)

Sources:

*American Academy of Pediatrics, Infant Sleep Machines and Hazardous Sound Pressure Levels, April 2014.

**American Academy of Pediatrics, Evidence Base for 2022 Updated Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment to Reduce the Risk of Sleep-Related Infant Deaths, June 2022