As of tomorrow, when the times change where we are in Canada, it will be dark at about 5pm in the evening.
Even this slight change impacts our circadian rhythm and pushes us into a collective social jetlag. So this week’s Imagination Meditation for your kids (and you) comes just in time to assist your family in finding deep, quality sleep!
Quality sleep is really important for children and adults, but quite often we don’t get enough rest.
For some parents, it can be a struggle to get their kids to sleep 10-13 hours per day, including naps (which is the recommended number of hours for preschoolers), because being awake is so exciting! We get it – we wanna play all day too!
Sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, sleepwalking, nightmares and night terrors, are actually quite prevalent in children this day and age, so it is important to refer to a healthcare professional if you notice that lack of sleep is impacting your child’s mood, emotions, and immune system. Our guess is – too much screen time after 6pm…
However, there is good news!
Creating a regular bedtime and calming getting-ready-for-bed routine is the best way to encourage good sleeping habits and reduce bedtime tantrums.
This time of year, our bedtime routine for our son Sauryn has been like this:
- After dinner, we lower the lights in the house, light some candles and even sit around the fire in our living room. We try to wind down with family activities like board games, drawing, reading or some form of craft project.
- 45 minutes before ‘lights out’ we brush our teeth, shower & put PJs on.
- We then either read in bed as a family OR we snuggle and read our own books.
At 8 years old, Sauryn only gets ONE show/movie night per week, which is on Fridays.
Other than that, he gets an audio story in the afternoon when he needs some decompression time after a day’s activities. While listening to his audio story, he usually does some form of creative activity – and you know what, he doesn’t complain about not being able to watch TV or play video games – like, ever! He gets it. Too much screen time turns us into screen zombies.
In today’s new Majik Kids Imagination Meditation, Sleep Quest, we follow a young girl called Elena on her quest to find the elusive Sleepy Rock… She first meets the river, Río, who teaches her how to release her worries one by one, breath by breath, into its flowing waters to relax her mind. She is then sent the way of the tree, Árbol, who leads her through a kind of simple yoga nidra (sleep meditation), to relax her body in preparation for deep slumber. Finally, the tree directs Elena to Luna the moon, who invites Elena to think of a dream or wish, so that she may dream her best dream all through the night. Slowly drifting into dreamland, Elena finally finds Sleepy Rock, right where she is.
Deep breaths and yawns guaranteed!
