From the day the baby is brought home from the
hospital to the day the teenager becomes an adult and
moves out, parents are face with the question, are they
getting enough sleep? Recent research shows that
children of all ages are not getting enough sleep. The
studies also show that failure to get enough sleep can
result in poor school achievement and behavior problems.
Through the ages children and teenagers have fought with
their parents about bed time and the need for sleep. On
the page you will find information on how sleep effects
child and adolescent develop. You will also learn how to
help your child or teen get the right amount of sleep.
Newborns & Infants
Newborn infants have irregular sleep cycles, which take
about 6 months to mature. While newborns sleep an
average of 16 to 17 hours per day, they may only sleep 1
or 2 hours at a time. As children get older, the total
number of hours they need for sleep decreases. However,
different children have different needs. It is normal
for even a 6 month old to wake up briefly during the
night, but these awakenings should only last a few
minutes and children should be able to go back to sleep
easily on their own.
Sleep and Newborns (1-2 months)
For newborns, sleep during the early months occurs
around the clock and the sleep-wake cycle interacts with
the need to be fed, changed and nurtured. Newborns sleep
a total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day on an irregular
schedule with periods of one to three hours spent awake.
The sleep period may last a few minutes to several
hours. During sleep, they are often active, twitching
their arms and legs, smiling, sucking and generally
appearing restless.
Newborns express their need to sleep in different ways.
Some fuss, cry, rub their eyes or indicate this need
with individual gestures. It is best to put babies to
bed when they are sleepy, but not asleep. They are more
likely to fall asleep quickly and eventually learn how
to get themselves to sleep. Newborns can be encouraged
to sleep less during the day by exposing them to light
and noise, and by playing more with them in the daytime.
As evening approaches, the environment can be quieter
and dimmer with less activity.
Sleep Tips for Newborns:
- Observe baby's sleep patterns and identify signs of
sleepiness.
- Put baby in the crib when drowsy, not asleep.
- Place baby to sleep on his/her back with face and head
clear of blankets and other soft items.
- Encourage nighttime sleep.
Sleep and Infants (3-11 months)
By six months of age, nighttime feedings are usually not
necessary and many infants sleep through the night;
70-80 percent will do so by nine months of age. Infants
typically sleep 9-12 hours during the night and take 30
minute to two-hour naps, one to four times a day – fewer
as they reach age one.
When infants are put to bed drowsy but not asleep, they
are more likely to become "self- soothers" which enables
them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and put
themselves back to sleep during the night. Those who
have become accustomed to parental assistance at bedtime
often become "signalers" and cry for their parents to
help them return to sleep during the night.
Social and developmental issues can also affect sleep.
Secure infants who are attached to their caregiver may
have less sleep problems, but some may also be reluctant
to give up this engagement for sleep. During the second
half of the year, infants may also experience separation
anxiety. Illness and increased motor development may
also disrupt sleep.
Sleep Tips for Infants:
- Develop regular daytime and bedtime schedules.
- Create a consistent and enjoyable bedtime routine.
- Establish a regular "sleep friendly" environment.
- Encourage baby to fall asleep independently and to
become a "self-soother."
Toddlers & Preschoolers
Fewer minutes and hours of sleep add up to more problems
in the daytime behavior of children aged two to five,
according to new research. Two- and three-year-old
children sleeping less than 10 hours in a 24-hour period
were consistently at greatest risk for behavior problems
such as oppositional or noncompliant behavior, "acting
out" behaviors, and aggression, reported the team of
Northwestern University scientists conducting the study.
Preschoolers who sleep less at night have almost 25
percent greater chance of psychiatric diagnosis,
according to the study, published in the June issue of
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Here are some basic suggestions from the American
Academy of Pediatrics:
- Make sure there is a quiet period before your child
goes to bed. Establishing a pleasant routine that may
include reading, singing, or a warm bath. A regular
routine will help your child understand that it will
soon be time to go to sleep. If parents work late hours,
it may be tempting to play with their child before
bedtime. However, active play just before bedtime may
leave the child excited and unable to sleep. Limit
television viewing and video game play before bed.
- Try to set a consistent schedule for your child and
make bedtime the same time every night. His sleep
patterns will adjust accordingly.
- Allow your child to take a favorite teddy bear, toy,
or special blanket to bed each night. Such comforting
objects often help children fall asleep–especially if
they awaken during the middle of the night. Make sure
the object is safe. A teddy bear may have a ribbon,
button, or other part that may pose a choking hazard for
your child. Look for sturdy construction at the seams.
Stuffing or pellets inside the stuffed animal may also
pose a danger of choking.
- Make sure your child is comfortable. Check the
temperature in your child's room. Clothes should not
restrict movement. He may like to have a drink of water,
have a night-light left on, or the door left slightly
open. Try to handle your child's needs before bedtime so
that he doesn't use them to avoid going to bed.
- Try to avoid letting your child sleep with you. This
will only make it harder for him to learn to settle
himself and fall asleep when he is alone.
- Try not to return to your child's room every time he
complains or calls out. A child will quickly learn if
you always give in to his requests at bedtime. When your
child calls out, try the following:
- Wait several seconds before answering. Your response
time can be longer each time to give your child the
message that it is time for sleep. It also gives him the
opportunity to fall asleep on his own.
- Reassure your child that you are there. If you need to
go into his room, do not stimulate the child or stay too
long.
- Move farther from your child's bed every time you
reassure him, until you can do this verbally without
entering his room.
Sleep Tips For Toddlers:
- Maintain a daily sleep schedule and consistent bedtime
routine.
- Make the bedroom environment the same every night and
throughout the night.
- Set limits that are consistent, communicated and
enforced. Encourage use of a security object such as a
blanket or stuffed animal.
Sleep Tips for Preschoolers:
- Maintain a regular and consistent sleep schedule.
- Have a relaxing bedtime routine that ends in the room
where the child sleeps.
- Child should sleep in the same sleeping environment
every night, in a room that is cool, quiet and dark –
and without a TV.
School Age Children
A recent study reported in Developmental and Behavioral
Pediatrics that 37% of the children in this age group
experience significant sleep problems. Problems may
include a reluctance to go to sleep, waking up in the
middle of the night, nightmares, and sleepwalking. In
older children, bed-wetting can also become a challenge.
Children in the sixth-grade may suffer adverse
cognitive, behavioral and emotional consequences due to
an increased risk of being chronically sleep deprived,
according to a new study in the May issue of
Developmental Psychology, a journal published by the
American Psychological Association (APA).r />
Children vary in the amount of sleep they need and the
amount of time it takes to fall asleep. How easily they
wake up and how quickly they can resettle are also
different for each child. It is important, however, that
as a parent you help your child develop good sleep
habits at an early age. The good news is that most sleep
problems can be solved and your pediatrician can help. A
good place to start looking for help is in Sleep
Problems in Children by the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
Children's nightmares can be so recurrent and so real
that the Walt Disney Co. recently devoted a whole movie
to them. In the recently released "Monsters, Inc.,"
there is a parallel universe of beasts that make a
living by creeping out of the closet and into the scary
dreams of little ones.
OKOK, so in reality monsters don't live inside the closet.
They still, however, are found in the dreams. But give a
child an empowering image, and he just might be able to
chase that monster away, says Alan B. Siegel, a
California psychologist and author of "Dreamcatching:
Every Parent's Guide to Exploring and Understanding
Children's Dreams and Nightmares." - The Washington
Times
Dreamcatching: Every Parent's Guide to Exploring and
Understanding Children's Dreams and Nightmares
Sleep Tips for School-aged Children:
- Teach school-aged children about healthy sleep habits.
- Continue to emphasize need for regular and consistent
sleep schedule and bedtime routine.
- Make child's bedroom conducive to sleep – dark, cool
and quiet.
- Keep TV and computers out of the bedroom.
- Avoid caffeine.
Teenagers
In the 1970's researchers at Stanford University
discovered that teenagers require more sleep, by 1 to 2
hours, than do their younger 9 and 10 year old siblings,
yet most teenagers get 1 to 2 hours less. Teenagers are
the sleepiest members of society and this sleepiness is
associated with poor school performance, increased drug
and alcohol use, and increased automobile accidents.
This level of sleepiness may also play a role in the
high rate of teenage suicides. However, in addition to
requiring more sleep than do 9 and 10 year old children,
or adults, teenagers typically have altered biologic
rhythms which vary the time of night teenagers sleep
best and the times of day teenagers are most alert. The
timing of sleep and wake is very dependent on the sun.
Humans typically sleep at night and are awake in the
daytime. By following the simple practices of awakening
at about the same time (give or take 1 to 2 hours) daily
and getting bright light and by remembering that the
need for sleep increases during the teenage years,
teenagers can sleep well. If teenagers sleep well at
night, they are very likely to function well in the
daytime. Please see News from the AAP: New Study Shows
Some Sleep Problems Carry Into Adolescence. The Sleep
Center at St Mary's Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington
has an excellent discussion on this subject.
