Sleep, rest and recovery
Understand what may be disrupting sleep, make changes that fit your child's needs and recognise when to ask for a sleep or medical assessment.
What you can find here
- Why will my child not settle or switch off?
- Is this poor sleep hygiene or something more?
- How do sensory needs affect sleep?
- What is delayed sleep phase?
- When should we speak to the GP about sleep or melatonin?
Begin with the main Library article
Main Library article
Why will my child not settle or switch off at night?
A practical way to identify the kind of sleep problem, remove avoidable barriers and build a sleep plan around the child rather than one bedtime rule.
More from the Library
When should we speak to the GP about sleep or melatonin?
When a child’s sleep needs clinical attention, what to take to the appointment and how to have a safe, useful conversation about melatonin.
Written March 2026
Why does my child wake in the night, and what should I do?
A practical night-waking plan that checks comfort, health, breathing, patterns and support before assuming the child has learned a bad habit.
Written March 2026
What should I do when my child wakes at 5am?
A focused plan for persistent very early waking that checks schedule, comfort, environment and health without turning dawn into a daily battle.
Written March 2026
What is delayed sleep phase, and does my teenager have it?
How to recognise a consistently delayed sleep pattern, distinguish it from one late bedtime and take useful evidence to the GP.
Written March 2026
What counts as rest for a child who cannot switch off?
How to recognise and protect forms of rest that reduce demand and effort, even when a child does not look still, silent or conventionally relaxed.
Written March 2026
How do sensory needs affect sleep, and what can we change?
A practical way to identify sensory barriers to sleep and test small bedroom or bedtime changes without turning the room into a treatment programme.
Written March 2026
Is this a sleep habit problem or something more?
How to distinguish a bedtime pattern from pain, breathing, medication, anxiety, circadian timing or another sleep concern that needs assessment.
Written March 2026
How do I set up a bedroom that helps my child sleep?
A room-by-room-style sleep check for comfort, light, sound, safety and predictability, using the child’s actual experience rather than an ideal-bedroom checklist.
Written March 2026
Quick answers from the Blog
The best ways to help an autistic child who won't stay in bed
Work out why your child is leaving the bed, meet the real need and make the return calm and predictable rather than starting a nightly contest.
Written November 2025
Why won't my ADHD child fall asleep, and what helps?
Identify whether the difficulty is starting bedtime, not feeling sleepy, discomfort, worry, medication or another sleep concern, then choose the next step.
Written November 2025
How do I get a teenager with ADHD to put their phone down and sleep?
Build a workable night-time phone plan while checking whether the phone is delaying sleep or filling time when sleep has not arrived.
Written November 2025