New study finds a set bedtime routine is good for a child's behaviour

Getting your child into a good sleep routine is the holy grail for parents.

But a new study suggests a consistent bedtime is more important than the amount and quality of a child's sleep, and even has a huge effect on a child's behaviour and emotional regulation.

The clinical study, published in the Journal of Development and Behavioural Paediatrics, found suboptimal sleep was associated with disruptive behaviours in childhood.

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The study examined sleep duration, quality and timing, and compared this with emotion regulation, impulsivity, prosocial and antisocial behaviour in children.

Researchers looked at a previous randomised controlled trial designed for obesity prevention.

At the age of six, children wore a device to measure movement for seven days and participated in tasks to evaluate behavioural control, emotion regulation, prosocial and antisocial behaviours.

It found greater variability in a child's bedtime was associated with greater impulsivity and poorer emotion regulation.

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The study concluded: "Findings support the importance of consistency in sleep timing and how this may play a greater role in children's behavioral and emotional outcomes than mean actigraphic sleep duration and quality."

The findings came as no surprise to Australian paediatrician and baby sleep expert Dr Daniel Golshevsky, who is better known as Dr Golly.

"This new research confirms something we've known for years; that sub-optimal sleep is associated with disruptive behaviours and poor emotional regulation in childhood [such as] tantrums, meltdowns, impulsivity and antisocial behaviour," he said. 

Dr Golly said the research also offered other fascinating information.

"It showed that children who followed a consistent bedtime routine, and fell asleep at roughly the same time every night, displayed better control of their emotions and behaviour when they were under stress."

The Melbourne-based doctor, author and father-of-three created his own Sleep Program and recommends parents establish and maintain a bedtime routine as early as possible.

"Keep it simple and achievable, right from the start," he said.

"Having a lengthy, complicated bedtime routine only sets a family up for failure.

"It's much better to have something that's easy to do after a big day at childcare, school, work or a busy day at home."

Dr Golly said a bedtime routine should be "unique for every family" and depends on a child's age and your family's lifestyle.

"There is no right or wrong here," he said, adding a bedtime routine didn't have to be complicated.

For babies, he said a simple routine might include a bath, into pyjamas, a book in their room while they have a drink of water or bottle, brush teeth, into their sleeping bag, white noise on, cuddle, then into their cot or bed.

For school-aged children, it might be a bath/shower and into pyjamas, then some quiet colouring or reading with a parent in their room.

"Other useful tools for older children are guided meditation, deep breathing, or mindfulness before bedtime to help manage anxiety and nightmares," he said.