Whether you and your loved ones are fasting or not, the holy month of Ramadan will change your routines every year. The first noticeable change is mostly your sleep schedule. As usual, your little ones will be the most affected by those changes and it can become very difficult for them to overcome this drastic change once Ramadan is over.   While some of our children will easily go back to their usual sleeping pattern, others will have a very hard time regaining their normal sleeping hours.   So … How can you help your kids?   Most parents wonder if they should stick to their normal sleeping routine despite Ramadan, or if they should be more flexible.   Unfortunately, there is not one correct answer to that as every child will react differently to these changes.

There are nonetheless a few steps to follow to make sure you keep on giving your loved ones the best living environment.  

• You should try to maintain a minimum amount of sleeping hours.

  Studies showed that the best quality sleep is between the hours of 7pm to 8am. Therefore, try you observe how much sleep your little ones are getting between these hours , 80% of their sleep should be between these hours. For those whom circumstances allow should try to put their loved ones to bed before having Iftar otherwise give them a nap between the hours of 2-5 PM.

• If for some reasons your kids stay up longer, you should still try to maximize the hours of sleep they are getting.

  One of the main reasons some children take so much time recovering from Ramadan’s disturbance is the accumulation of sleep deprivation over the course of a month. For instance, the early risers who also tend to sleep late during Ramadan will slowly accumulate a sleep debt and therefore be disturbed for a much longer period. SO a good option to keep the balance and not to accumulates sleep debt is to alternate days that you keep them up beyond their regular waking hour.

  Sleeping is one of the most important part of a child’s healthy growth and development. Although Ramadan is a special month for all of us, it is crucial to prioritize your kid’s health.  Once they get older, they will have all the opportunity to observe Ramadan in the best way possible.   As caregivers, parents have a huge responsibility in keeping their loved ones safe and healthy. But in order to do that, we often forget that you, parent, need to be well rested and healthy yourself!