With the summer season upon us, many families will be flocking to the highways to embark on amusement ride-filled vacations, to camp at majestic national parks or to visit Grandma and Grandpa. But with all of the excitement and fun away from home come missed naps and overstimulated kids who don’t want to sleep at night.
Dr. Chris Drake, a bioscientific investigator at the Henry Ford Sleep Research Center in Detroit and resident sleep expert for AmericInn Hotels’ “Sleep Better America” program, knows firsthand the benefits of connecting while on family vacation, yet he also knows how lost hours of sleep can be unhealthy for kids and cause big headaches for parents. To ease parents’ minds, Drake offers the following tips to help children achieve the best sleep possible while on the road:
- Plan activities around your children’s nap schedules while on vacation.
- Stick to healthy meals and regular mealtimes.
- Start your usual bedtime routines of putting on pajamas, brushing teeth and reading books one hour earlier.
Great tips – we have often found that doing fun and exciting things during the day , and then something subdued and relaxing in the evening also helps….