As a parent, it may feel like managing your child’s sleep habits is an uphill battle—the busy swirl of school, extra-curricular activities, and the family circus can make getting to bed a chore. But sleep is not just important for physical health—it is essential for mental health, too. Getting to bed on time can be a challenge for busy families but it’s possible to build a good rest routine to support children’s emotional and cognitive resilience.
Clinical psychologist Brian Razzino, Ph.D. stresses the importance of sleep as the “foundation” of mental health. “Think of sleep as the foundation of a house—if it’s shaky, everything built on it becomes unstable,” he says. “Chronic sleep deprivation undermines our emotional ‘blueprints,’ making us more prone to mood swings, heightened stress responses, and persistent anxiety.”
Dr. Razzino describes an emotional blueprint as the underlying structure or framework that shapes how a person experiences, processes, and expresses emotions.
The Link Between Sleep and Mental Health
When sleep is inadequate over long periods, it can significantly impact mood regulation, emotional stability, and mental health. Research highlights a direct link between chronic sleep deprivation and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. In a 2020 review in the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that individuals suffering from chronic insomnia were more likely to develop mood disorders. This reinforces the understanding that poor sleep is not just a symptom, but a contributing factor to mental health challenges.
Dr. Razzino says that “over time, insufficient sleep is strongly linked to a higher risk of clinical depression and more severe anxiety disorders,” and the effects are not limited to adults. Children and adolescents with disrupted sleep patterns are also at greater risk for mental health struggles. A 2024 study by renowned sleep researcher Evelyn Touchette and colleagues revealed that kids experiencing sleep difficulties, such as trouble falling asleep, were at an elevated risk for depression, ADHD, and conduct problems by age 15.
Dr. Razzino compares a child’s brain to a cluttered office by day’s end, with sleep serving as the cleaning crew that clears out waste and reorganizes for a fresh start the next day.
“Sleep acts as the brain’s overnight maintenance crew,” Dr. Razzino explains. “During sleep, our minds consolidate memories, process stressors, and strengthen the neural connections critical for learning. But when sleep is interrupted, these repair cycles are shortened, leading to deficits in emotional regulation and cognitive performance.”
While the link between sleep and emotional well-being is undeniable, emotional regulation and emotional resilience often become key areas of concern in children and adolescents facing sleep disturbances. From a clinical standpoint, understanding how sleep deprivation affects emotional responses is crucial, and learning how to implement age-appropriate support strategies can help mitigate these effects.
Emotional Resilience
Stephanie Drew, LCSW, a therapist specializing in child and adolescent mental health, also emphasizes the benefits of adequate sleep for emotional resilience. “Well-rested children are better equipped to regulate their emotions and cope with stress effectively,” she says. “Sleep helps develop emotional regulation skills, which are essential for coping with life’s challenges.”
For children, sleep disruptions—such as long sleep latency (difficulty falling asleep)—can be particularly detrimental. “Even one aspect of sleep disruption can gradually undermine the brain’s nightly ‘maintenance,’ leading to challenges in managing everyday stress, learning effectively, and developing stable emotional patterns,” Dr. Razzino adds.
Sleep-Deprived Parents Suffer, Too
Sleep deprivation doesn’t only affect children; it also has serious repercussions for adult mental health. Rebekka Wall, a certified adolescent and adult sleep consultant explains, “Chronic lack of sleep affects our mental health because it increases stress, impairs our emotional regulation, and reduces our overall resilience to mental, emotional, and physical challenges.” Though parents may be able to push through sleep deprivation, adults, like children, need quality sleep to maintain their mental well-being, and going without rest can lead to a similar cascade of negative effects.
“When we lack sleep, we experience irritability, brain fog, and the parts of the brain that help us manage emotions don’t function as they should,” says Wall. “This results in an inability to cope effectively with stress, increased anxiety, and even symptoms of depression.” While addressing sleep and emotional regulation in children is crucial, it’s important to recognize the immense challenge parents face in ensuring everyone gets adequate rest—particularly when caring for younger children.
A 2019 study in the journal Sleep found that parents are sleep-deprived for the first six years of a child’s life, which can significantly impact their own mental health and emotional well-being. With this in mind, let’s consider how these challenges can affect both parents and children, and explore how emotional regulation strategies can help support the entire family.
This helps transition smoothly into the idea that the struggles with sleep are not just individual but family-wide, with both parents and children impacted. It also sets the stage for further exploration of emotional regulation in the context of those challenges.
“In a world where many adults are already juggling multiple responsibilities, lack of sleep exacerbates the challenges of parenting and work, making it more difficult to maintain emotional stability,” says Wall.
How Families Can Improve Sleep Hygiene
A 2018 study found that children with consistent bedtime routines have better executive function, school readiness, and overall well-being. Structured sleep routines not only improve rest but also support cognitive development and emotional health.
Parents play a vital role in shaping their children’s sleep habits, which can significantly influence their mental health. Dr. Razzino suggests, by focusing on simple strategies for improving sleep hygiene, parents can help set the stage for better emotional regulation, cognitive function, and overall well-being. Here are his tips:
Regular Bedtimes: Establishing a consistent bedtime helps synchronize the body’s internal clock, leading to smoother mornings and better sleep quality.
Relaxing Rituals: Engaging in calming activities, such as reading a book or listening to soft music before bed, can help children transition from the busyness of the day to a state of relaxation, optimizing the brain’s nightly cleanup work.
Limit Screen Time: Reducing screen time by at least one hour before bed helps prevent overstimulation and allows the brain to unwind properly before sleep.
Create a Sleep-Conducive Environment: A dark, quiet, and cool environment is ideal for promoting restorative sleep.
Improving your child’s sleep hygiene not only benefits their mental health but also enhances the well-being of parents. “A well-rested child often means a well-rested parent,” says Wall. Parents who prioritize sleep for their children experience reduced stress and improved emotional regulation, leading to a more harmonious home environment.
Fostering Better Sleep Habits
The link between sleep and mental health is undeniable. Parents can play an active role in fostering better sleep habits for their children, which, in turn, contributes to emotional resilience and cognitive development. As Dr. Razzino emphasizes, “Sleep is the foundation for emotional health—strengthen it, and everything else falls into place.”
By improving sleep hygiene, both children and parents can better cope with life’s stresses, creating a more balanced, mentally healthy family dynamic.
