Is Your Child Getting Enough Sleep?

 

It can be hard for any family to establish good sleep routines for the children, but for working parents it can be especially hard. Yet a child's need for sleep is far greater than an adult's, and the consequences for sleep deprivation are far worse. How long should your child be sleeping, and how will you know if they are not getting enough sleep?

 

Our need for sleep changes as we age. A newborn may sleep as much as sixteen or eighteen hours a day, in small chunks spread throughout. By the time they are four years old the need drops to around 12 hours sleep, and by eight they may need a little more than 10 hours sleep.

 

The most common symptom of a lack of sleep is being cranky. Your small baby may cry a lot, or be hard to settle and ironically they may be harder than normal to settle to sleep at night. This is because they start to fight sleep and will be unable to relax and settle down.

 

As your child becomes more and more over tired they begin to become hyperactive. Behavioral problems are common in children who are not getting enough sleep with the child not listening, acting out, and having seemingly boundless energy-yet this is not the true situation. The child may be excessively tired and still unable to tell you that they feel this way.

 

Your child's school may suggest that they have trouble concentrating and in fact studies have shown that children who are over tired have a higher chance of being diagnosed with ADHD. This is not to say that all children with ADHD are simply not sleeping enough, but that for some children the problem is caused by not sleeping and establishing better sleep hygiene will alleviate their symptoms.

 

Many parents have noticed that when particularly tired that their child tends to act out. But when the problem is ongoing they may lose sight of the fact that the child is struggling to cope with sleep deprivation, and may not be feeling as good as they should.

 

Establishing a good routine is the first step in helping your child get enough sleep. If they resist an earlier bedtime, yet are clearly not getting enough sleep then several things may help.

 

A dark room is commonly needed as the darkness encourages the release of the sleep inducing hormone, melatonin. Removing sources of light from the room and installing black out blinds can make the most resistant of sleepers begin to rest better.

 

Lastly it may be important to remember that all people wake in the night-even adults. But children may be scared when they awake alone, or may need help settling after a bad dream. Instead of taking this as being naughty or resisting sleep, consider helping them to get back to sleep, knowing that sleep begets sleep and that a disturbed night one night may cause poor sleep for many days to come.