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Home > Child > Guiding with confidence > Stability of sleep schedules

Is it important to put your baby or child to bed at the same time?
Popular science communication: Evelyne Touchette, PhD
  • Published on : May 12, 2022

Always, no. Exactly to the second either. As often as possible, yes.

As for taking the train, it is a question of being at the station on time, that is to say a little before the exact time, so as not to miss the first train of sleep (see Signs of lack of sleep).

But why going to sleep at the same time?

  • Regular waking-up and bedtimes are reassuring for children and help them to avoid getting into a sleep debt.
  • In addition, even if toddlers are not aware of the time, they learn to make associations through repetition in their daily lives. The routine thus serves as a metronome and helps the child to first learn the rhythm of day and night. Thanks to their internal clock, which develops during the first year of life, their body learns to secrete sleep hormones, which will allow them to string together sleep trains and have a consolidated sleep at night (with fewer and fewer awakenings).
  • Science shows that the older the child gets, the easier it becomes to put him to bed at the same time, thanks to the development of his brain and his sleep clock and to the fact that he knows the difference between day and night. The regularity of the schedules also facilitates falling asleep.
Inspiration and scientific sources
  • Pennestri MH, Burdayron R, Kenny S, Béliveau MJ, Dubois-Comtois K. (2020) Sleeping through the night or through the nights? Sleep Med. 76:98-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.10.005.

    • Popular science communication:https://www.ciusssnordmtl.ca/nouvelles-et-evenements/article/faire-une-nuit-ou-faire-ses-nuits/
  • Touchette E, Mongrain V, Petit D, Tremblay RE, Montplaisir JY. (2008) Development of sleep-wake schedules during childhood and relationship with sleep duration. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med.162(4):343-9. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/379301

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“Learning to sleep like learning to walk” is an online resource that offers reliable information validated by scientists and specialists in sleep, health and child development.

Warning. “Learning to sleep like learning to walk” is not medical assistance and cannot replace the advice of a legally authorized health specialist. Only health specialists are qualified to provide medical advice, regardless of your or your child’s condition after a thorough examination and with personalized care.

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