Frequently Asked Questions
Surfing on a Cloud is a collection of guided sleep meditations for kids created using science-based techniques with the aim of helping children fall asleep faster and more peacefully. These stories are proven to be a useful tool for many parents who have used them to help their children achieve better sleep quality and duration.
Surfing on a Cloud is available on both Apple and Android devices.
Surfing on a Cloud is designed for children aged 3-12. Though is beneficial to individuals of all ages.
To create an account on Surfing on a Cloud, simply download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Once the app is installed, open the app and follow the prompts to sign up.
Surfing on a Cloud customer support is always happy to help. You can email us at support@surfingonacloud.com or use the in-app support feature for quick assistance.
Our team is working on making Surfing on a Cloud mindfulness stories downloadable for offline listening. To stay up to date, enable push notifications or sign up for our newsletter.
You can manage your notification settings in the app’s settings menu under the Notifications section.
Surfing on a Cloud guided meditations for kids are designed as standalone stories that can be listened to in any order.
Surfing on a Cloud can alleviate anxiety symptoms, including difficulty sleeping and relaxing through guided meditation. Though it should not be used as a substitute for traditional anxiety treatment.
Yes, all meditation sessions on Surfing on a Cloud are carefully curated and designed to be safe and age-appropriate for children. We ensure that the content promotes mindfulness and relaxation without any harmful or inappropriate material.
Refund policies are governed by the app store from which you purchased the subscription. Please refer to the refund policies on the App Store or Google Play Store for more information.
Yes, Surfing on a Cloud offers up to a 14-day free trial for the premium subscription. You can sign up for the trial through the app and explore the premium features before making a commitment.
To manage your subscription, go to your device’s app store settings and follow the instructions provided. Please note that uninstalling the app does not cancel your subscription; it must be done through the app store.
Quality sleep during childhood is critical for optimising cognitive development, academic performance and physical and emotional health.
Sleep disturbances are any disruptions or anomalies in the normal sleep pattern that could impact daily functioning. Meditation has been proven to be a beneficial intervention to improve sleep quality for people who experience sleep disturbances. By relaxing and reducing anxiety, meditation can help promote better sleep.
Depending on the age of your child, their sleep routine may be normal. A 2019 study indicated that the presence of sleep problems was highest during infancy, stabilising from ages 6-11. Waking up is the most prevalent behaviour during infancy, with difficulty sleeping alone occurring during ages 2-3 and problems falling asleep, with prevalence increasing during middle childhood. If you are concerned about your child’s sleep, always seek the guidance of your doctor or qualified health professional.
Technology use at bedtime, such as mobile phones, video games, or computers, can significantly reduce the quantity and quality of sleep a child gets, resulting in increased tiredness in the morning. Surfing on a Cloud uses auditory aids to help your child sleep more peacefully, so you needn’t worry about screen time.
Insufficient sleep can affect children’s attention, memory, and motivation, which are important for their academic development. Addressing sleep issues can help children reach their full potential and improve their academic performance.
Nightmares can happen for numerous reasons, including stress, anxiety, irregular sleep, and some medications. If you are concerned about your child’s nightmares, always seek the guidance of your doctor or qualified health professional.
Unhealthy sleep habits can have a negative impact on the physical and mental development of children. Studies have shown that unhealthy sleep patterns in children can affect the following areas –
- Physical: negative physical health outcomes such as obesity, impaired glucose metabolism, and high blood pressure.
- Cognitive: impact on neurocognitive functions among children and adolescents, including attention, intelligence, and academic performance
- Emotional and behavioural: internalising behaviour, including depression and anxiety; externalising behaviour, such as behavioural problems and more rule-breaking.
Meditation is a practice that involves integrating mind and body to focus and redirect thoughts using techniques, including nature sounds, guided meditation, and breathing exercises, to calm the mind and enhance wellbeing.
Guided meditation involves a narrator who leads a meditation session, helping you focus on specific imagery, sensations, thoughts and breathing techniques.
Guided meditation is a type of meditation that comes with a structured guide to help you focus your attention and stay present. It also helps prepare the body for sleep by targeting anxious thoughts and relaxing the mind and body, which has been proven to help with sleep.
There are numerous science-based benefits of practising meditation. These include:
- Reduce insomnia and sleep quality
- Improved cognitive functioning
- Improved academic performance
- Decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Increased social skills, including self-esteem, social abilities and quality of relationships.
There are many forms of meditation that can be beneficial to children. If you are looking to introduce meditation to your children, the structure of a guided meditation can make the practice more enjoyable by incorporating storytelling and visualisation to help capture children’s attention.
Practicing meditation regularly has been linked to better quality of sleep. By calming both the mind and body, meditation can help reduce the racing thoughts that keep us awake. Additionally, meditation has been shown to increase the natural production of melatonin, which can contribute to a more peaceful and restful sleep.
Nightmares are disturbing dreams that often provoke emotions such as anxiety, fear and sadness. Nightmares occur through all aspects of our lives but are prevalent in children between ages 3-6. Findings suggest that emotional patterns while we are awake are preserved in dreams, influencing what we dream about. As such, if we experience anxiety or depression, it can manifest in our dreams. A study supports this, finding those who were more mindful throughout their days were less likely to experience negative emotions in their dreams.
Incorporating storytelling into meditation can be an effective way to keep your child engaged and focused. Stories can transport us to different worlds and guide the mind into a state of calmness, which can help with sleep.
There is no set age for introducing meditation to children. Each child develops differently and may be ready at different times. Though it’s good to introduce meditation in ways that are appropriate for their age. Techniques like guided imagery, deep breathing exercises, or simple mindfulness activities can be tailored to their level of understanding and attention.
Discover Surfing on a Cloud’s guided sleep meditations for kids on the App Store or Google Play.
Meditation has far-reaching benefits beyond sleep and mental health, including supporting the body’s functioning and overall health. Meditation has even been found to significantly reduce blood pressure and can provide short-term relief from chronic pain.
Mindfulness is the conscious awareness of the present without judgment. It involves intentionally directing one’s attention to the here and now, bringing awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and the surrounding environment.
It is suggested that introducing mindfulness practices to young children can support the development of self-regulation of young children.
Practising mindfulness has been shown to improve psychological wellbeing and mental health. Studies have proven that mindfulness practices reduce stress and anxiety, increase attention and memory, and enhance effort.
Mindfulness and meditation are effective techniques for improving sleep quality. They can make it easier to fall asleep by reducing stress and promoting relaxation. These practices help individuals become more aware of their thoughts and emotions, leading to better sleep regulation and enhanced daytime functioning. Integrating mindfulness and meditation into daily routines can foster healthier sleep patterns and overall wellbeing.
Mindful meditation is an effective way to fall asleep naturally at any age. Guided meditations are a great way to prepare your child for bed and welcome a good night’s sleep by relaxing, quieting and calming the mind.
Discover Surfing on a Cloud’s guided sleep meditations for kids on the App Store or Google Play.
Sleep needs vary with each child, however, the government sets out a guideline of how much sleep children should be getting. These numbers serve as a guide and each child will have individual sleep requirements:
- Infants between 4-12 months are recommended to have 12-16 hours of sleep, including naps.
- Toddlers between 1-2 years are recommended to have 11-14 hours of sleep, including naps.
- Pre-schoolers between 3-5 years are recommended to have 10-13 hours of sleep, including naps.
- Grade schoolers between 6-12 years are recommended to have 9-11 hours of sleep.
Understanding why your child’s sleep schedule is disrupted is an important first step. As a general rule, ensure that your child is getting high-quality sleep by limiting their exposure to electronic devices before bed and introducing a bedtime routine with guided meditation. Maintaining a consistent sleep and wake-up routine can help to establish a healthy sleep pattern.
Environmental factors that can impact the quality of sleep include noise and light exposure. As such, it is important to ensure your child gets quality sleep and to consider these factors when creating an appropriate sleep environment for your child.
Creating a consistent sleep routine for your child is important to promote healthy sleeping habits. Here are some ways to help create a consistent routine:
- Set a regular bedtime that is appropriate for their age
- Reduce the amount of screentime
- Establish consistent wake-up times
There are signs you can look out for if you believe your child isn’t getting sufficient sleep.
- Low energy
- Difficulty paying attention
- Difficulty waking up
- Moodiness or irritability
- Changes in appetite
- Decreased social skills
If you want to introduce meditation into your child’s routine but don’t know where to begin, here are some tips to make the meditation experience more enjoyable –
- Set up a comfortable environment: turn the lights off, remove distractions and ensure your child is comfortable before you start the meditation.
- Start with a short story: Start with a short, guided meditation and slowly introduce longer ones as your child becomes more familiar with them.
- Be consistent: make meditation part of your child’s daily night routine.
To introduce meditation to your children, lead by example and integrate it into your own daily routines. Make meditation sessions fun and accessible by using engaging storytelling apps such as Surfing on a Cloud, which can captivate your child’s interest and maintain their engagement throughout the practice.
The length of meditation will vary depending on your children’s age, engagement and interest. The American Academy of Paediatrics suggests that preschool children meditate for a few minutes a day, elementary school children 3-10 minutes twice daily, and teens 5-45 minutes per day. It’s important to tailor the length of meditation sessions to each child’s individual needs and preferences to ensure a positive and beneficial experience.
Yes, research suggests meditation, particularly mindfulness-based interventions, can help children develop positive pro social behaviours. One study conducted with researchers at Stanford University showed that 8 weeks of mindfulness helped children from grades four to six decrease emotional reactivity, improve their ability to handle daily changes, and choose their behaviour.
Studies have shown that mindfulness and meditation have a positive impact on children with ADHD. Symptoms of ADHD have been proven to decrease after mindfulness practices.
It is normal for children to feel stress, particularly around changes in life, school and family. Stress is typically a situation, and when the stressor is removed, it decreases. Anxiety, however, is excessive worry about future events or situations even when there is no threat present. Recognising the difference is important for you to be able to support your child’s wellbeing.
Anxiety can have a significant impact on children’s sleep patterns and lead to difficulties falling asleep and frequent awakenings. This can lead to poor concentration during school hours due to inadequate sleep. Meditation techniques have proven to be helpful in improving sleep quality and overall well-being for children who face anxiety-related sleep disturbances.
