More than eight out of ten primary school children experience bedtime anxiety, according to new national research.

Eighty-one per cent of youngsters aged between four and eleven years old suffer from bedtime anxiety – which is a fear or worry about going to sleep, according to research by sleep experts Silentnight.

Silentnight’s research found almost a quarter of kids are scared of the dark (23%), while nearly one in five (19%) have nightmares – with the same number fearful of sleeping alone.

Worries about school impact around 14% of children, with the fear of bullies or being bullied keeping 15% up at night,

The research also shows that the average child only gets seven to eight hours of sleep per night (42%) with just 18% getting the recommended 10 hours of sleep required for children aged four to eleven.

This means that on average kids are losing out on 14 hours of sleep per week, or 728 hours a week per year – which equates to an entire month of lost sleep annually.

Quality sleep is also being impacted by the number of times a child wakes up in the night and research reveals that the average child wakes up around two times each night.

To help make bedtime routines as easy as possible, and to alleviate bedtime anxiety, Silentnight has partnered with children’s coaching expert Natalie Costa and sleep poverty charity Zarach, to develop a Sleep Guide for Kids, aimed at parents and teachers.

The guide further includes contributions from Silentnight’s own sleep expert Hannah Shore.

Hannah Shore, Sleep Knowledge and Researcher manager at Silentnight said: “There are numerous causes of anxiety in children that can impact negatively on their sleep. These include over thinking, worrying, fear of the dark and worries about going to school.

“Anxieties often surface at bedtime, when the day is over, and they have nothing to distract them from their thoughts.

“Children need an average of 10 hours sleep per night, depending on their age. Our survey reveals that the average child is not getting anywhere near this, because they are fearful of going to sleep and waking up in the night.

“It’s not just about the quantity of sleep they get, but the quality. Children need a good mixture of all types of sleep to get good sleep quality. REM sleep has links with memory consolidation, emotional processing and learning and NREM sleep is restorative sleep where toxins are washed from our brains and growth hormones are released.”

As part of Silentnight’s Sleep Guide for Kids, Natalie Costa, who has more than 14 years’ experience working with parents and kids to develop better sleeping routines, shares her top tips to develop a positive sleeping routine – and help alleviate bedtime anxiety.

Natalie, who’s also founder of Power Thoughts, said: “It can be frustrating and distressing for parents if their child is waking up in the night, or if they are scared of going to sleep.

“The good news for parents is that there’s lots of things they can do to take the stress out of bedtime and help kids feel more settled and adapt into a routine.

“Whether it’s creating a clear bedtime routine, taking the time to explain why sleep is so important or even practising meditation or journaling – there’s lots of things to try.”

Bex Wilson, founder of sleep charity Zarach, said: “Since we began the fight against child bed poverty in 2018, I’ve remained convinced that with the right partnerships we can, together, bring an end to UK bed poverty and succeed in our mission to ensure every head has a bed, and for every child to have the opportunity to eat, sleep, learn.

As well as collaborating on the sleep guide, Silentnight has started regular product donations to the charity.

Bex continued: “We were thrilled to receive such a large, generous donation of high-quality, brand-new items. We feel privileged to be working with such a giant of the sleep industry”.