How to Optimize Your Child's Sleep This Winter with Light, Dark & Circadian Rhythm Tips

As the colder, darker months arrive, our bodies are designed to slow down, rest deeply, and repair. Nature wants us to be conscious of this shift — yet most families power through with busy schedules, screens, and stress, leaving our natural rhythms disrupted.

While everyone struggles with sleep sometimes, children with autism are especially affected. Up to 83 percent of people with autism experience sleep problems. One study noted that, “Insomnia is the most common type of sleep problem in individuals with ASD and often includes prolonged sleep onset latency, extended night awakenings, and early morning rise time.” (1)

Sleep deprivation doesn’t just cause crankiness or brain fog — it disrupts detoxification, focus, learning, and even speech development. (2)

This post explores why circadian rhythm is essential for healing, how sleep supports mitochondrial function, and simple ways to align your child’s rhythm with nature this winter.

How Much Sleep Do Children Need?

Children require much more sleep than adults because their brains and bodies are growing rapidly. According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids who are three to five years old, need 10-13 hours of sleep. And kids six to thirteen, require 9-11 hours. (3)

That’s almost half of a 24-hour day! Unfortunately, between screens, modern lighting, and disorders like autism and ADHD, most kids aren’t getting the restorative sleep their developing brains need.

What Is Circadian Rhythm?

Circadian rhythm is your body’s internal 24-hour clock. The miraculous suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), located in the hypothalamus, is the master regulator that tells every cell and gene clock in the body what to do.

It is controlled by light and darkness.

The original human was designed to be outside in the sun during the day, fueled by cortisol in order to be awake and alert. Natural sunlight contains blue light too, but it’s balanced by red and infrared wavelengths. At night, when it gets dark, cortisol goes down and melatonin is supposed to go up. This transition is what allows us to relax in the evening, and then naturally fall asleep.

However, artificial blue light at night from LED bulbs and screens. and more time indoors during the day, has completely disrupted this process. For example, the 455 nm bright light coming from an iPhone tells our time clock that it is noon and to release cortisol. This creates a problem for our body’s communication network if it is dark outside.

Think of it like an airport where all flights (body processes) are timed perfectly — but one delay or storm can throw off the entire schedule. Artificial light, late-night stimulation, or irregular routines can quickly cause “flight delays” in your child’s system, leading to trouble falling asleep and then worsening their symptoms the next day.

Why Sleep Matters for Healing

Sleep is when your child’s brain and body perform their deepest repair work:

• Damaged cells are repaired (autophagy).

• Old cells are replaced (apoptosis).

• Cell division occurs, which helps leaky gut.

• Myelin, the protective coating around neurons that are vital for speech and attention are built.

• The brain detoxifies through the glymphatic system, clearing waste and inflammatory buildup.

Circadian Rhythm, Light, and Mitochondria

Mitochondria are deeply connected to the circadian clock. Their energy production, antioxidant balance, and repair cycles all follow daily rhythms. Light directly influences mitochondria. Artificial blue light can increase oxidative stress and lower ATP. Red and near-infrared light, found found in sunlight, boosts mitochondrial health.

Research shows mitochondrial dysfunction is common in autism, impacting how cells create and use energy. Addressing circadian alignment and natural light exposure can support healthier mitochondria — and, in turn, healthier brains. (4)

To support this premise, there is currently a clinical trial at the University of Texas that is studying if “infrared light stimulation can improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes for those with ASD by increasing mitochondrial bioenergetics.” (5)

Also, Josh Madsen D.C. of Infinity Neuromotor Development Center has three United States locations that are currently using transcranial photobiomodulation for autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopment disorders. To learn more about his light-based therapies like Low-Level Laser Therapy are being used, check out Documenting Hope’s recent webinar noted below in the sources. (6)

Ways to Restore Circadian Balance Naturally

While not everyone has access to lasers and red light panels, here are a few ways to naturally support circadian rhythm and your child's sleep:

Morning

• Set a consistent wake time.

• No screens first things in the morning.

• Go outside at the beginning of each day.

• Within 30 minutes to 1 hour of waking, move and eat breakfast with protein. This sends an appropriate “wake” signal to the brain.

  
  

Evening


• Dim lights and use lamps.

• Circadian rhythm friendly lighting in heavy used areas.

• No screens after dinner or wear amber blue blocker glasses.

• Set a consistent bedtime and chill routine.

• If your child has a hard time going to sleep, try to gradually shift their bedtime to earlier in 15 minute increments.

• Go to sleep and eat earlier since it gets darker earlier.

• If your child has a hard time relaxing, check out my favorite simple, calming energy practices.

  
  

Give Their Bedroom a Light and Technology Makeover

• Lamp — incandescent bulb

• No electronics or screens

• Make sure there’s not a strong EMF source on the wall behind their headboard.

• If they have an alarm clock, film it on slow motion with your iPhone. Is there flicker? If there is, buy a battery alarm clock, dim the display, or take it out altogether.

• Blackout curtains if needed — a dark room is important.

• If there is road noise, etc., try using a light fan to help block it out.

• Red or amber night light if needed.

Final Thoughts: Embrace the Dark

More darkness during the winter gives us the potential to produce more melatonin and therefore, allows the body to have more time for rest and repair. This is why winter can be very supportive to health when you become more mindful of how circadian rhythm works.

Melatonin isn’t just a sleep hormone—it protects the brain, calms inflammation, and recharges the mitochondria. It’s one of nature’s simplest, yet most powerful, ways to support health.

With melatonin supplementation being used now more than ever, it is evidence that our circadian rhythm has been seriously derailed. Supplementation can help some people get a better night’s rest, but it’s not a solution for everyone. The supplement quality and dosage is important. (7)

Also, unless melatonin supplementation is done in a strategic, temporary way with other circadian rhythm practices put into place, I’m personally not a fan of using it for children as a permanent solution because of possible hormonal effects, especially during the puberty years. (8)

Want My “Favorite Products” List?

I’ve created a list of my favorite products to make your home more circadian-friendly — from orange bulbs to blackout curtains and kid-safe red night lights.


💌 If you’d like the PDF, click here to request. If you cannot access the link, you can also email me at tstarling@simplyholisticsolutions.com.

Sources:

(1) “Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review and Systematic Update,” by Schwichtenberg, Janis, Lindsay, Desai, Sahu, Kellerman, Chong, Abel, Yatcilla. Current Sleep Medicine Reports, November 3, 2022. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40675-022-00234-5

(2) “Sleep Restriction Affects Children’s Speech,” American Academy of Sleep Medicine. June 12, 2007. https://aasm.org/sleep-restriction-affects-childrens-speech/

(3) “How Much Sleep Do Babies and Kids Need?” Sleep Doctor. July 23, 2025. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need

(4) “Biomarkers of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Frye R.E., et al. (2024). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38703861/

(5) “Vanguard Grant Will Support A New Study on Use of Infrared Light to Treat Autism Spectrum Disorder,” by The University of Texas at Austin, May 9, 2024. https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/news/vanguard-grant-will-support-a-new-study-on-use-of-infrared-light-to-treat-autism-spectrum-disorder

(5) “Autism Research Project with Non-Invasive Near-Infrared Light Stimulation,” https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06203938

(6) “Transcranial Photobiomodulation for Autism, ADHD, and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders with Josh Madsen DC,” by Documenting Hope. October 21, 2025. https://documentinghope.com/webinar/transcranial-photobiomodulation-for-autism-adhd-and-other-neurodevelopmental-disorders-with-josh-madsen-dc/

(7) “New Study Questions Ingredient Levels in Some Melatonin Supplements,” by Jeneen Interlandi. Consumer Reports. February 17, 2017. https://www.consumerreports.org/melatonin/study-questions-ingredient-levels-some-melatonin-supplements/

(8) “What is the relationship between melatonin and puberty?” https://www.droracle.ai/articles/38579/what-is-the-relationship-between-melatonin-and-puberty

(8) "Could long-term administration of melatonin to prepubertal children affect timing of puberty? A clinician's perspective." Boafo, Greenham, Alenezi, Robillard, Pajer, Tavakoli, Koninck. Nat Sci Sleep. January, 2019. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6362935/

“Blue Light Impact in Children.” American Optometric Association. https:// infantsee.aoa.org/Affiliates/InfantSEE/Documents/Blue-Light-Impact-in-Children.pdf

“Children with Autism: Sleep Problems and Symptom Severity.” Sage Journals. September 27, 2012. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/ 10.1177/1088357612457989

“Circadian Rhythm & the Gut Microbiome.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 27793218/

"The Inner Clock: Blue Light Sets the Human Rhythm," Wahl, Engelhardt, Schaupp, Lappe, Ivanov. J Biophotonics. December, 2019. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7065627/