Hot Tips #2: Sleep Health at Camp

There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed in your own bedroom in your own house. Bedtime at camp, or at home, can sometimes be challenging. Helping campers or our own children settle down to sleep after a long day of fun and excitement takes patience and skill…and, at home, we don’t typically have 9-10 kids we are trying to get into jammies, brush teeth and tuck in.

We have bedtimes at camp for a reason: kids need sleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends children 6-12 years of age sleep 9-12 hours and teenagers 13-18 should sleep 8-10 hours for every 24 for “optimal health.” We want them to get enough rest to be healthy, active and engaged during their time at camp. And we know that sleeping in yurts, platform tents or in a room with 11 other people isn’t the norm.

Talking about the importance of sleep, and establishing healthy sleep patterns before camp is very important. We coach our staff to help campers by establishing guidelines for the camp bedtime routine: (Example) After evening activities, we are back at the living unit and starting our evening self-care routine (possible shower, face wash, teeth brushing, etc.); at 8:45-8:50p, the overhead lights go out, we are only whispering with our friends and everyone needs to be in their beds and either reading their own books or getting ready to listen to the book the counselor is reading; at 9:15-9:20p, headlamps need to be off and everyone should be quiet.

Does this happen exactly like this every night at camp? No. It takes time to establish the rhythms and patterns, and there are many “camp-only” moments that we will take advantage of: watching a meteor shower, getting up early for an “alpine start” to climb a 14,000 foot mountain, waking up with the pre-dawn sunrise streaming into your tent. AND, it is also why we have rest periods almost every day at camp–to give our bodies just a little more rest and relaxation so we can stay as rested as we can when, like Calvin and Hobbes say, “The days are just packed!”

HOT TIPS FOR PARENTS

• DO: Help your night owls find ways to begin to settle down earlier. Recommendations from sleep professionals include: establishing a consistent bedtime routine (finish homework, take a shower, brush teeth, put on sleepwear, crawl into bed and read a book or have a book read to you); getting off of screens an hour before your desired bedtime; not using/having screens in your bedroom; and doing some reflective gratitude journaling or a consistent debrief activity with you like (Rose, Bud, Thorn or High, Low, Buffalo–see sidebar)

• DO: Help your camper think about and talk through the differences (and similarities) of bedtime at camp. If they really love to read their own books, and the counselor is reading another book out loud, where will they keep their earplugs and headlamp..maybe in a special container you pick out together? If they always have a mom backrub as they are falling asleep, can you practice another self soothing exercise, like “box breathing” or deep breathing and focusing on relaxing each body part, slowly moving up from the toes to the top of the head.

• DO: Help your camper make their bunk/sleeping area feel comfortable and “homey.” If your camper is flying, maybe that is with a special blanket from home. If you are driving, maybe it is the bedding from their bed or special “camp” bedding they can bring back year to year. Stuffed animals are important and more abundant than most wildlife at camp–just think about the ramifications if “binkey” or “stuff-stuff” (especially if they are very old, very small and irreplaceable) come to camp. Sometimes, writing “stuff-stuff” a letter is a far better choice than having a precious stuffie go missing or be lost at camp.

• DO: Build a sleep kit with and for your campers. In June, the sun rises around 5am and doesn’t set until almost 9p. Having a sleep kit with a few pairs of earplugs, a back-up reading headlamp, a sleep mask and even some relaxing pillow spray may help campers feel like they are prepared if they are having a hard time falling asleep. And, after the first few days of camp, our campers are so physically active that falling asleep is rarely a problem.

• DO: Practice some of these tools and techniques at home before your camper comes to camp. Our camp staff will not give backrubs or snuggle with a child until they fall asleep, so having those self-soothing skills are important. Knowing your camper can do it on their own will be reassuring to all of you!

HOT TIPS FOR CAMPERS:

• DO: Be a good listener and know that bedtime is important, so when your counselors ask you to get ready for bed, know your plan and practice your routine at home. (Teeth, shower, pajamas, read? Or shower, pajamas, teeth, read?)

• DO: Talk about your bedtime routines with your counselors; living unit groups set “community norms” which are a set of guidelines for everyone’s actions and behaviors, and the “lights out” timing is something you all will discuss.

• DO: Let a counselor know, right away, if you are having a hard time sleeping at camp. Sometimes you may be too hot or too cold and we can help you with different or extra bedding to make sure you are sleeping well.