How to improve sleep for children living with ADHD

ADHD children with sleep problems. 

Children are usually super active during the day, and sometimes, even trying to get them to sleep at night can be quite challenging. This challenge is quickly doubled (or even tripled) when trying to get a child with ADHD to get some quality sleep at night. ADHD children suffer from sleep problems. 
 

ADHD in children, teenagers, and children with autism, is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. The main symptoms of this disorder are trouble paying attention or controlling impulsive behaviours. And these make it difficult for the child to wind down, relax, and get some sleep when the day ends. Fortunately, there are some things you can do as a parent or carer to help your little one get some quality and restorative sleep.
 

Try essential oils

Essential oils can help to reduce the symptoms of autism or ADHD by helping children to feel calmer and more relaxed and improve their overall well-being. By altering their emotions, it has a knock-on effect on behaviour. As a result, you can use essential oils to help your kids relax more easily and display fewer signs of anxiety, aggression or distress.

An effective non-medical sleep aid for children with ADHD is our Rainbows Dream Spray which is full of gorgeous smelling sleep enhancing essential oils allowing your little ones to get the restorative sleep their bodies need. It includes most of the key essential oils for children with ADHD and autism, like lavender, frankincense, vetiver, sandalwood and cedarwood. We use top quality natural ingredients to create paraben-free, sulphate-free products you can trust.

Which essential oils are best for children with ADHD and autism?
 

Exercise daily and avoid trigger foods

Most children are naturally very active in the day, which helps them wind down at night. But children with ADHD and sleep problems may need extra help in terms of exercise to get their bodies ready for a long rest. Additionally, it is best to avoid foods with caffeine or anything that contains sugar and other ingredients that may cause hyperactivity in your child.
 

Stick to a regular bedtime schedule

It is essential to plan with your little one what the ideal night-time routine should be. Doing this is especially important if your child also has autism, as it helps their minds to stay with a routine they’re more used to and able to stick to. Doing different things each night will create interruptions in their sleep cycle and this really makes it very difficult to experience the sleep improvement your child needs. Plus, always ensure that the few hours leading up to bedtime are calm enough to reduce the chances of triggering hyperactivity. 
 

Reduce anxieties

Just like adults, when a child or teen struggles with anxieties, it is highly challenging to get their minds to relax enough to sleep. Depending on what’s keeping your child anxious, try different strategies to get them to calm before bedtime so they can fall asleep naturally. Do they suffer from nightmares? 

Try white noise and blackout blinds

If your child has sensory issues, then they may experience extremely sensitive hearing. You can use nature sounds or white noise to simply drown the unwanted sounds from around the house. We also recommend blackout blinds to eliminate excessive light in the bedroom.

Warm bath
A warm bath before bedtime allows the body to cool down before going to sleep. This really makes your child more sleepy. Make sure to keep the room cool as well in order to get a better night’s sleep! ADHD children with sleep problems will benefit from a warm calming bath before bedtime.