Six tips for getting your kids to sleep well at night

If your child struggles to fall asleep or wakes several times throughout the night, you already know how exhausting it is for the whole family. Poor sleep affects everything from their behaviour and concentration to their immune function and growth. The good news is that most childhood sleep problems have simple, natural solutions that work surprisingly fast when you understand what’s driving them.

In this blog, I’ll show you the overlooked reasons behind sleep struggles and give you practical steps to help your child sleep better, starting tonight. I’ll look at the role of screens, blood sugar balance, calming routines, gut health and the key nutrient deficiency that often gets overlooked. By the end, you’ll have a clear plan to tackle the root causes of your child’s sleep issues, not just the symptoms.

Are you ready to get your evenings back and finally get some rest yourself? Let’s start with what’s really keeping your child awake.

1. Screen time out

Many screens still emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin production (our sleepy hormone), tricking the brain into thinking it’s daytime. While “night mode” or filter features can reduce the intensity of this blue light, these devices still emit wavelengths that can suppress melatonin production. Research finds that for each additional hour of screen time, there is a 63% increase in the risk of insomnia and around 24 fewer minutes of sleep. So aim to set a firm rule of no screens for at least an hour before bedtime. If your child argues that they need their phone for music or an alarm, buy them an old-fashioned alarm clock or a music speaker that isn’t internet-connected.

Replace screen time with calming activities such as reading together, drawing, puzzles, audiobooks, podcasts, gentle music or quiet conversation. Dim the lights as bedtime approaches to help melatonin levels rise naturally. If you must use screens during the evening, use Apple’s ‘night-shift’, blue-light filters or get your kids to wear specialist glasses that block blue light.

2. Avoid the carb highs

Many children eat a high-carbohydrate dinner or a bedtime snack that sends blood sugar soaring, then crash in the middle of the night. When blood sugar drops too low, the body releases cortisol and adrenaline to try and bring it back up again. These stress hormones jolt your child awake like a fire alarm would, often around 2am or 3am, wide-eyed and unable to settle back to sleep.

The solution to this is simple but very powerful. Try swapping sugary or carb-heavy evening foods for foods rich in protein and healthy fats. A boiled egg with oatcakes, apple slices dipped in nut butter, or hummus with crunchy veggie sticks all make brilliant bedtime snacks that keep blood sugar stable through the night.

Protein slows down glucose release, so it helps to stop the middle-of-the-night blood sugar crash. Some protein sources, like chicken, turkey and cashews, also play a dual role in helping them sleep, as they provide the amino acid tryptophan, which the body converts to melatonin.

Ideally make sure they have had their main evening meal at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. If it’s well balanced that may help by itself. But a light snack 30 minutes before bed can help too. See what works for you.

Caffeine is a stimulant and not very good for children under the age of 12 years old anyway. Chocolate contains a little caffeine, and it might be too stimulating for sensitive kids if given in the late afternoon or evening. If your kids are part of the wide-awake club, then avoid giving them chocolate and cocoa after school or during the evening.

3. Create a calming environment

Trying to encourage your kids to wind down before bedtime can be pretty stressful in itself! So try to reduce everyone’s stress levels well before bedtime. Cortisol, known as the ‘stress hormone’ plays a key role in sleep. Your child’s body won’t be able to slow down and go to sleep if their cortisol levels are high.

So (as much as is possible!) keep activities before bedtime calm – like reading a book, listening to an audiobook or gentle music and keep the lights dim and the environment quiet. This can really help to avoid excess levels of cortisol in your child’s system, thereby helping them to wind down more easily.

Surprisingly, laughing and giggling before bed actually helps your kids to wind down and get to sleep! This is because it helps to rid the body of excess cortisol. It is almost as if they are giggling the adrenaline out of their system!

A relaxing bath is a great start to their bedtime routine. If your little one gets stressed or wired in the evening, adding a couple of cups of Epsom salts to a warm bath may help them to chill out. This is because the magnesium in these salts may help reduce restlessness and irritability by inducing more of the sleepy neurotransmitter GABA.

Make sure you explain why you are putting it in, as creating an expectation could help bring the effect forward: “I’m putting this special salt into your bath, which will probably make you feel a bit more sleepy later.” Our daughter, when she was little, said she always had happy dreams after an Epsom salt bath!

4. Gut health and sleep

The gut produces about 90% of the body’s serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps us sleep. This is because one of serotonin’s roles is to serve as a precursor to melatonin, which starts to kick in as daylight fades in the evening. If your child has digestive issues, constipation, tummy aches or food intolerances, then their gut bacteria may be out of balance, and this may be disrupting their overall serotonin production.

Children with chronic gut problems often live with low levels of beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. These good bacteria help produce calming neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin and GABA. When bad bacteria dominate the gut microbiome, such as Clostridium innocuum and Odoribacter, they can produce toxins that interfere with sleep and cause restlessness.

A high-quality live bacteria supplement designed for children can therefore make a real difference. Look for products with multiple strains, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which have been studied for their effects on mood and sleep. Fermented foods like natural yoghurt, kefir, sourdough bread, kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso also support gut health, though getting children to eat them can sometimes be challenging.

5. Omega-3 support

Omega 3 fatty acids are crucial for brain function, and emerging research shows they play a significant role in sleep quality too. These essential fats help regulate melatonin production and support the areas of the brain responsible for sleep. Children with low levels of omega-3 often take longer to fall asleep, wake more frequently, and have shorter sleep duration overall.

The best sources of omega-3 are oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies. Aim for two to three portions a week, though I know this can be tough with children who turn their noses up at fish. Smaller oily fish like sardines and anchovies are lower in mercury than larger fish like tuna, making them safer for regular consumption. They also hide well in tomato sauces and pesto.

If your child won’t eat fish or simply doesn’t eat enough, then a high-quality omega-3 supplement becomes essential. Look for one that provides good levels of DHA, which is the most important omega-3 fatty acid for deeper and more restful sleep. Plant-based sources like flaxseed, perilla, chia seeds and walnuts provide ALA, a precursor to DHA. However, the conversion rate from ALA to DHA in the body is quite poor, particularly in children, so the flax and perilla-based omega supplements and plant-based omega food sources are less likely to help with sleep quality. Marine algae vegan oil supplements do contain some DHA, but usually less than their fishy equivalents.

6. Calming supplements, teas & oils

After supper and before bath time, there are some wonderful natural remedies that help your child’s body relax and prepare for sleep. Many of these come in sleepy supplement blends, so you don’t need to buy them individually. You can sprinkle powders and drops into milk, yoghurt or fruit puree for younger children. Older children and teenagers can take them in capsule form.

• Montmorency Cherry juice has been found to be abundant in natural melatonin and data suggests that this tart cherry juice (Prunus Cerasus) increases melatonin levels and enhances sleep quality and duration. It can be slightly sour-tasting, so you can add a little honey or maple syrup if preferred. Fresh or frozen cherries also naturally contain a small amount of melatonin.
• Theanine is the non-caffeinated part of black and green tea that gives you that lovely relaxing feeling when you drink a cuppa. Taking theanine at night helps to boost levels of GABA and other calming brain chemicals. It also helps lower levels of “excitatory” brain chemicals that are associated with anxiety and stress. Studies have found that theanine helps with sleep quality and duration in hyperactive children. Again, theanine can be taken on its own or comes in combination with other sleep aids in gummy, powder and capsule form.
• Night Time Teas or Drops could include oat flower, lavender, lime flower, lemon balm, passionflower or vervain which are all perfect for winding down and you can add a little honey to sweeten. Once brewed, you can add an ice-cube to the boiled water to help cool it down to drinking temperature faster.
• Barley grass powder works well mixed into a green-based smoothie, and may help to improve sleep due to its GABA content. Barley grass powder is also a great source of vitamin E, iron and zinc; so it’s a great food to incorporate into the daily routine. Barley grass is usually found within green “superfood” powders which can be added to smoothies. Also, try giving your little one soups with pearled barley in the evening.
• Essential oils are sweet-smelling and easy. Try pillow sprays or bath drops with lovely, sleepy and calming essential oils. Also, try rubbing skin lotions containing these essential oils into your child’s feet, legs and arms. Look out for lavender, frankincense, Roman chamomile and ylang ylang.

Round up

Bedtime can become a battle when little bodies resist the urge to snuggle down to bed. There are lots of things to try – so pick out the one that you find the easiest to try first and then weave in more things if needed. Is it the screen curfew, switching to blood-sugar snacks, or soaking in Epsom salt baths? Could it be adding in more omega-3, or have you got a hunch that they need gut support as a priority? Maybe it’s turning to the cherries and calming herbs? Best of luck in your quest to help the troops have a calm family bedtime and a good night’s sleep.

However, if your child is finding it impossible to get to sleep, stay asleep or wakes up super early, and you’re tearing your hair out, then get in touch with our NatureDoc clinical team, who can run tests and work with you 1 to 1 so you all get a proper night’s sleep.

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This has been updated from a post originally published Apr 4, 2018.