Help Your Child Sleep Through Eczema

When you have a child with eczema sleeping throughout the night without disruption seems almost impossible. Many parents blame the itchiness of this skin condition for their child’s erratic sleep patterns but unbeknownst to them, one other reason for kids to miss sleep is stress. If you want your child to sleep peacefully through the night then follow these suggestions:

Come up with a bedtime routine

Start conditioning your child to be in bed at a certain time and stick to this schedule every night.

Get rid of all electronic devices in the bedroom

Your child’s bedroom must be free from any electronic device that could distract him from trying to get to sleep.

Minimize the light in his bedroom

Light can disrupt sleep so make sure that when it’s bedtime all of the lights in his room are turned off. If he still finds it hard to sleep without a light or if the dark scares him then leave one lamp open and nothing more.

Let your child fall asleep on his own

Conditioning your child to fall asleep on his own is important because it will help him settle in his own system of trying to fall asleep. If he’s used to falling asleep after you’ve snuggled up to him you might have to do this for several weeks before he gets used to sleeping on his own. So make sure that he falls asleep on his own.

Additionally, afternoon naps won’t help your child sleep throughout the night because his mind and body are still quite active due to his short respite earlier.

Don’t let him drink coffee after lunch or in the afternoon

Most parents don’t let their kids drink coffee but there are some who do. If your child has eczema and is having trouble sleeping at night do not let him drink coffee or any liquid with sugar and caffeine in it after lunch. So that means no soda too.

When he wakes up in the morning let the sun shine in his room

It’s important to wake up your child when it’s time to wake up so that he will be active the whole day and tired by bedtime.

Have him take a warm bath before bedtime

Warm baths can soothe the body, caress the skin and relax the muscles, which is why a lot of people find it easier to sleep after they have taken a bath before they get into bed.

Do some muscle-tensing exercises before bedtime

A study showed that people who performed muscle-tensing exercises, an exercise wherein the individual tenses his muscles and holds it for a few seconds then relaxes them, have been able to minimize the stress in their bodies.

So have your child do these exercises and he could be sleeping in no time.

Laughter is the best medicine, even for sleeping with eczema

Another study revealed that people who laughed before going to bed were able to sleep better due to the increase of melatonin in their body.

So have your child watch something funny before he sleeps and he might have a smile on his face while sleeping throughout the whole evening.