Winter Darkness and Children's Sleep: How to Help Kids Through the Dark Swedish Months

It's 7 a.m., pitch black outside, and Alva will not wake up. If you've just moved to Sweden, or you've simply lived through one too many Novembers, you've probably noticed how winter darkness affects children's sleep: groggy mornings, cranky afternoons and evenings where nobody wants to go to bed. The good news: a few small habits around light, outdoor time and routine make a real difference.

Why are kids so tired in winter?

The body has an internal clock that is largely set by light. According to 1177, Sweden's public health information service, the daily rhythm is easier to keep when you get plenty of daylight during the day. In winter, there is simply less of it. Around the winter solstice the sun rises just before nine and sets just before three in Stockholm, and north of the Arctic Circle it doesn't rise at all for a few weeks. In Kiruna, the first sunrise of the year comes in early January.

For a preschooler, that often means leaving home in the dark and being picked up in the dark. The few hours of daylight become precious. Kids who seem slower, grumpier or fall asleep in the car on the way home are very normal at this time of year. You're not doing anything wrong.

How much sleep do children need in winter?

Sleep needs don't change with the seasons, but they can feel bigger when it's dark. 1177 gives approximate ranges by age, and every child is different:

For signs of too little sleep, see our guide to how much sleep children need.

How can kids get more daylight when it's dark outside?

The trick is to grab the light whenever it's there. Even on a grey, overcast day it is much brighter outside than indoors. 1177 suggests children spend at least an hour outdoors every day.

• Go out around midday. A lunchtime walk, the sledding hill or the playground between twelve and one is gold on weekends.
• Morning light by the window. Have breakfast near a window and open the blinds straight away.
• Walk or cycle to preschool if you can, instead of driving all the way.
• Brighten the home in the morning. Plenty of light at breakfast helps everyone wake up, big and small.

How do you keep evenings calm when it's been dark since three?

After hours of darkness, it's easy to end up with every light on and a screen in every hand. 1177 advises dimming the lights in the evening and trying to limit TV, phones, computers and tablets for at least an hour before bedtime. More on that in our article on screens and sleep.

1. Switch off the ceiling light after dinner. Use a floor lamp, a reading lamp or fairy lights instead.
2. Same order every night. Pyjamas, teeth, story, goodnight. Clear routines help a child know when it's time to sleep.
3. Cosy, not hot. A cool bedroom with a warm duvet often feels better than a warm room.
4. A calm ending. A bedtime story, a song or a little chat about the day.

Research backs up the routine itself: in a large study of more than 10,000 families across 14 countries, young children with a bedtime routine every night had fewer sleep problems than those who had one less often. For a step-by-step plan, see our guide to a bedtime routine for kids.

Does waking up at the same time every day matter?

Yes, it helps. Dark weekend mornings tempt the whole family to sleep in, but if Noah sleeps until ten on Saturday, falling asleep at seven on Sunday evening gets tricky. Try to keep times roughly the same every day, with only a small difference at weekends.

A gentle way to wake up in the dark is to switch on a soft light in the room a little before, open the door and let the sounds and smells from the kitchen do the rest. Much kinder than a ceiling light straight in the eyes.

Some families turn the bed into a place the child actually wants to go: a favourite colour on the duvet or pillowcase, the cuddly toy in its spot and a pillow that fits a small neck. The Lillmoln Kudde is a comfort pillow in three sizes, one per age: 1–3, 3–8 and 8–16 years, with a washable cover. It won't make winter any brighter, but it can make bedtime a little more fun.

Do children need vitamin D in winter?

In summer, most people get vitamin D from sunlight on the skin. In the Swedish winter the sun isn't enough, so food and possibly supplements matter more. Here is what the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) says about children:

• All children under 2 are recommended a supplement of 10 micrograms a day.
• Children who don't eat fish or vitamin D–fortified foods, or who don't get out in the sun in summer, are also recommended 10 micrograms a day.
• Most milk products, plant drinks and spreads in Sweden are fortified with vitamin D. Oily fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel are good sources too.

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