A guide to life-long healthy sleep from infancy

Dr Barbara Gnidovec Stražišar

Vice President (Clinical), European Sleep Research Society (ESRS)

Poor sleep in childhood and adolescence affects behaviour, learning and cardiometabolic health. Establishing healthy sleep habits early promotes long-term wellbeing into adulthood.

Sleep is one of the pillars of health and wellbeing. This is especially true for the developing brain where insufficient sleep can lead to cognitive and neurobehavioral problems in a developing child, impacting the quality of life of the whole family.

Sleep hygiene is important from birth

One of the prerequisites for good sleep in all life periods is good sleep hygiene. From birth, we should provide a child a proper sleep environment, desirably in a separate bed. We should make sure a mattress is firm, clean and fits tightly into the bottom of the cot. The room should be dark, well-ventilated and smoke and noise-free. Over the first three months, we should aim to develop a regular sleeping routine that helps children to settle for bed and prepares them for sleep. We should encourage self-soothing behaviour and help children to learn proper sleep onset associations.

Insufficient sleep can lead to cognitive
and neurobehavioral problems in
a developing child.

Schedule sleep, avoid naps, keep the bedroom peaceful

Healthy sleep schedules include fixed bed and waking times, which should be enforced together with promoting bright light exposure in the morning and dim light condition in the evening. Daytime naps should be avoided, especially in adolescents that often suffer from sleep phase delay. The use of electronics prior to sleep onset is discouraged. Instead, physical activity in early afternoon has a beneficial impact on sleep quality and should be introduced.

Other good sleep habits include omitting snacks before bedtime and abstaining from caffeine and other energy drinks that might impact sleep quality. To avoid social jetlag during weekends, refrain from staying in bed too long after wakening. To keep a positive sleep routine, daytime problems and anxiety should be kept out of the bedroom and resolved before going to bed. All of these good sleep hygiene principles will help us gain adequate and healthy sleep for our children and adolescents and give them the tools to sleep well into adulthood.

Sleep awareness month in Europe

Although the importance of sleep has been long recognised by sleep researchers, general awareness is still too low. The European Sleep Research Society (ESRS) is therefore launching an annual sleep awareness campaign in March. The focus for 2025 and 2026 is on the importance of healthy and adequate sleep in children and adolescents.