Sleep is an essential part of a child’s physical, emotional and intellectual health.
When
was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? When we wake up
feeling rested we feel ready to handle the challenges of the day. It
is the same for our children. Sleep is a very important and often
forgotten influence on their lives.
Problems
linked to poor sleep:
- Irritability and bad behaviour
Poor
sleep interferes with the part of the brain that controls behaviour
and emotions. Children who are tired get very upset about things that
would not worry them. Most children are tired and irritable at the
end of the day. But children who have not slept enough can be easily
annoyed at any time of the day.
- Just how much sleep do children need?
Guidelines
for the average number of hours children need to sleep:
Newborns
- 18 hours
Toddlers
- 15 hours
Pre-schoolers
- 11 to 12 hours
Primary
aged - 10 to 11 hours
Adolescents
- 9 hours
Lack
of sleep affects children’s ability to pay attention in class and
to remember new information. Sleep is a time when our brains rehearse
what we have learnt during the day. Not enough sleep can prevent this
practice happening. Tiredness also affects children’s ability to
focus on what they are doing.
- Weight gain and frequent sickness
Poor
sleep reduces the hormones in the body that control appetite. They
can mean that children may eat more than they need to. Lack of sleep
also interferes with the body’s immune system making infections and
sickness more common.
But
for most children who do not get enough sleep, and that is about 40%
of children, there is a lot that we can do to help them. How do we
create the conditions for sleep?
This
is perhaps the most important point. A nightly ritual tells the brain
that sleep is coming. Every family needs to work out their own
routine, but it could be something like this – have a bath, have
dinner, brush teeth, go to the toilet, have a small drink of water,
read some books, a kiss goodnight, and then the light out. Try and
create your own predictable and calming ritual that helps your child
to slow down and prepare for sleep.
Avoid
over-tiredness
If
children are overtired they become emotional and restless and can end
up fighting with you and not going to bed. Your routine should
naturally end at the time of the evening when your child is tired –
but not too tired. If you stick to your routine then you should
avoid this problem. Watch your child for signs they are getting tired
such as yawning, rubbing their eyes or becoming irritable. These are
signs that they should be in bed soon.
Avoid
excitement before bed
If
your routine before bed allows your children to run around, wrestle
with each other, or watch TV– they will become too excited and
won’t be able to sleep. Only allow calm activities before bed.
Limit
caffeine and salt
Caffeinated
foods such as colas and chocolate at night can stimulate children and
prevent sleep. Salty foods such as pizza and potato chips can cause
children to wake up during the night for a drink of water.
Not
too hot or too cold
If
your child’s bed clothing is too hot or their bed has too many
blankets – this can interfere with sleep. The ideal room
temperature for sleep is around 21 degrees. Try and make sure the
room is not too cool or too hot.
Darken
the room
Darkness
is a signal to the brain that it is time for rest. Too much light in
the room can stop this message being sent to the brain. Make the room
as dark as your child can tolerate. Better to leave the door slightly
open to allow light in than to have a lamp on in the room.
No
napping
Do
not let your child have a nap when they get home from school. This
rest will reduce their tiredness at bedtime and make it harder for
them to get to sleep.
No
sleeping in
Do
not allow your child to sleep in more than a half an hour past their
normal wake up time on the weekends. This can interfere with their
normal sleep pattern. After sleeping-in children’s normal bed-time
tiredness will be pushed back to a later time than normal.
Thinking
about these points can help solve a lot of sleep problems. But some
children will still resist sleep even if we create the right
conditions.
Coping
with sleep behaviour issues
We
know that sleep is important to the health, happiness and the growth
of our children. But sometimes children can still resist going to
sleep. So how should we deal with children who refuse to go to bed,
or stay in bed? We have to remind ourselves that children do not
know what is best for them. Children cannot decide when to go to
sleep. It is not an issue that we should negotiate with them - they
need us to take charge of this part of their lives.
Children
resist getting into bed. They call out to us from bed. They get out
of bed to play or to come out to us. The ideas listed below will help
you deal with these problems.
Stay
calm
When
we are having bedtime difficulties with children we must stay calm.
If we get angry then they will get angry and upset also – which
means we then have to wait for them to calm down again before they
can fall asleep. Getting angry makes sleep less likely to happen.
Be
boring
Try
and react the same way each time. Many children will try and have a
discussion about why they don’t want to be in bed. Remember we
don’t have to discuss our reasons now – if you do they will argue
with you anyway. Limit the amount of talking at these times. They are
happy to have a debate with you – because the longer you talk the
longer they can stay up. Just ignore their talk and take them back to
bed.
Be
consistent
If
they get our of bed, call out to you, try and respond in the same,
predictable way each time. Know that if you keep calm and stay boring
every time they not come to you – eventually they will decide it is
worth the effort and end up going to sleep. If children call out to
you, try to ignore them if we can. If you decide you must go into
them try not to say too much. Watch to see if your child seems to
always have a reason for staying awake. Try not to get tricked into
reading another story, singing another song, or getting another
drink.
Use
a chart
For
some children a simple chart that is marked to show when they have
gone to in bed without any problems will provide them with some extra
motivation to co- operate and recognition for good behaviour.
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