Getting children to bed is one of the big stresses of parenting. And all the conflicting sleep advice adds to the nightmare, which has led to some groundbreaking research, with mums and dads getting a helpful steer from night-time texts. Any port in a storm, right?
Devised by experts at Manchester’s universities, the text messaging system – costing under £2 per family for a week – has been shown to improve bedtime routines as well as the mood of parents.
For the study, 50 first-time parents with children aged one to three were recruited and received a variety of texts for seven consecutive nights providing information on achieving optimal bedtime routines.
The messages had been co-designed with the parents, and a focus group reported back saying they found the texts helpful, adding they should be more widely available.
The study team focused on key areas for achieving good bedtime routines before bed: brushing teeth; book reading and avoiding food, drinks and electronic devices.
Also included were calming activities before bed, including a bath or shower, as well as time consistency for going to bed.
Dr Georgios Kitsaras who led the study said: “We know that there is a strong link between the quality of bedtime routines and children’s sleep.
“We also know that poor sleep hygiene affects children’s development, school performance, cognitive function and mood, and development as well as the wellbeing of parents.
“So any intervention shown to be effective is most welcome and could make a real difference to families.”
After the study, sleep had increased by an average of 8% with less night-waking and children feeling better the next day after having a decent rest. The overall quality of bedtime routines also improved by an average score of 4.8%, with parents achieving better bedtime activities such as minimising sugar before bed, reading a book, avoiding tech and interacting with their children more.
Parental mood was boosted by an average score of 5.8%, with mums and dads reporting feeling less tense, less fatigued and having more self-esteem.
Dr Kitsaras added: “The low cost of the intervention, its adaptability and practicability, also makes it important in times of strained healthcare budgets and healthcare staff under pressure.
“The preliminary data from this low-cost intervention is very encouraging. We saw beneficial effects across three key outcomes: children’s sleep quality, bedtime-routine quality and parental mood disturbance.
“And parents felt less tense, less fatigued, less confused, less angry while also reporting higher vigour and self-esteem.”
Great news for tired parents and stroppy children everywhere.
