Anytime I think of summer I think of s’mores, fireworks, vacations, and swimming with friends and family! So of course I want these summer joys for my kids, but as a working parent and kids in summer camps I need balance and most importantly….we all need sleep.
One question I get often is, ” do we need less sleep in the summer?”. We know our circadian rhythm, the internal biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles, does shift in the summer due to longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures. Light plays a significant role in adjusting to seasonal changes since light input to the retina is the main zeitgeber (time cue) for the biological clock.
Studies in adults have shown that we get more total sleep and more REM sleep in the winter months and less in the summer. This is believed to be related to higher-intensity light exposure which suppresses subsequent REM and delays the onset of melatonin.
Now all this being said the studies in adults show that this “difference” in total sleep time is only typically 30 minutes or less and that total sleep time was not statistically significant, but REM-minutes did sho show a significant variation, with more REM-sleep during winter and less REM-sleep during summer.
Bringing the Evidence into Practice
So as I bring evidence into practice what do we do with that information? We know that in adults we may feel as rested with a little less sleep in the summer and kids *may* feel the same, but evidence doesn’t quite support saying they need less sleep at this time. My take? Shifting a child’s bedtime 30 minutes later for a short period of time during summer break is easy to try out and also easy to shift back as your little one returns back to school or daycare in the Fall. If you shift bedtime greater than an hour, as well as wake time, then you risk a much harder time getting back on track for the school year.
A Healthy Summer Sleep Schedule for Babies and Kids
In order to help with keeping schedules on track I recommend families do a household assessment of a few key things:
- Environment– It’s very important in the newborn phase to keep in light during the day as they are developing their circadian rhythm and need to know the difference between daytime and nighttime (we don’t actually want them taking long naps at that age). But by 2-4 months your baby starts to produce and secrete melatonin (this tells baby they should get sleepy in the evening) and at this time it’s important to keep it dark for naps and night sleep as well because this will make the nap longer and help with early morning awakenings too (Yates J. The long-term effects of light exposure on establishment of newborn circadian rhythm. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(10):1829–1830.). Check out more on blackout options here
- Mealtimes-We discussed about the possible shift of bedtime 30 minutes later and the same goes with meal times. If your child is used to eating dinner at 5:30 then you don’t want to jump to a 7 pm dinner in the summer. A small shift such as going to 6 pm instead of 5:30 pm will help a lot with keeping their circadian rhythm on track.
- Sleep Schedules– Look ahead at your summer schedules to plan out with your partner what sleep times are going to look like. Will your baby be napping a little later due to afternoon swim lessons for your older kiddo? Will bedtimes be later because you love a family walk after dinner? Talk about what works best for your family and build it into your daily routine.
Don’t forget the 80/20 rule
When you are doing fun summer activities such as seeing the fireworks or heading to the beach try to remember the 80/20 rule! Basically it means stick to your schedule 80% of the time, but 20% of the time you can shift things around. So no, you don’t have to be on schedule all day everyday, but when you have a routine and schedule then you can always lean back into this down the road when the festivities and vacations are over.
Typically later bedtimes can mean more fragmented or broken up sleep and sometimes early morning awakenings, have no fear though! After your vacation or holiday you CAN get back onto a routine. Often this is a good time to re-explore what normal sleep looks like for your child, if you aren’t sure check out my schedule guide here!
Getting back on track can sometimes be as easy as putting your baby or child to sleep at their typical schedule. Other times they are overtired, jet-lagged, or used to sharing a room with parents for a week or more! When these things are at play then a reset is needed. Since this happens to my clients too I created a post travel reset guide to get your kiddo back on track. It has all the tips you need for how to get back to smooth bedtimes and later mornings with your baby or child!
Hope you have a lovely summer with your family and don’t forget we can always chat on a free discovery call if you need more support finding rest this season!
Reference: Seidler, A., Weihrich, K. S., Bes, F., de Zeeuw, J., & Kunz, D. (2023). Seasonality of human sleep: Polysomnographic data of a neuropsychiatric sleep clinic. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 17, Article 1105233. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1105233
