Children Sleep Better When They Have A Bedtime Routine, Study Shows

Could having a set bedtime schedule help children get to sleep better? New findings published in the journal Sleep show that a positive impact on sleep increases with the consistency of a nightly routine.

A multinational study that consisted of 10,085 mothers from 14 countries reported that less than 50 percent of infants, toddlers and preschoolers had a regular bedtime routine every night. Furthermore, study findings revealed a consistent bedtime routine that had better sleep outcomes, including earlier bedtimes, shorter amounts of time in bed before falling asleep, reduced night walks and increased sleep duration.

Yet those with a bedtime routine slept an hour longer on average every night. A regular bedtime routine was also associated with decreased sleep problems and daytime behavior problems, as perceived by mothers.

"Creating a bedtime routine for a child is a simple step that every family can do," said principal investigator and lead author Jodi Mindell, PhD, professor of psychology at Saint Joseph's University and associate director of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, in a news release. "It can pay off to not only make bedtime easier, but also that a child is likely to sleep better throughout the entire night."

Furthermore, the study showed that the frequency of having a bedtime routine was also associated with better sleep outcomes in a dose-dependent relationship.

"For each additional night that a family is able to institute a bedtime routine, and the younger that the routine is started, the better their child is likely to sleep," added Mindell. "It's like other healthy practices: Doing something just one day a week is good, doing it for three days a week is better, and doing it every day is best."

Mothers participated in the study by completing a validated, online questionnaire that included specific questions about their child's daytime and nighttime sleep patterns, bedtime routines and behavior. The questionnaire was then translated into each language and back-translated to check for accuracy.

"The other surprising finding is that we found that this effect was universal," said Mindell. "It doesn't matter if you are a parent of a young child in the United States, India, or China, having a bedtime routine makes a difference."

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine includes positive bedtime routines as a set sequence of pleasurable and calming activities that precede a child's bedtime with the goal of leading up to a restful night. Many of these activities may include simple things like bathtime, reading a bedtime story or brushing ones teeth.