Children sleep problems - Children sleep issues

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

Children sleep problems Many sleep problems and issues are faced by children and some of them are listed below. The foremost obstacle faced by children is having difficulty and being unable to fall asleep.
Lack of sufficient sleep in the night making them feel dull and distracted in the day. Excess napping in the daytime keeping them awake in the night. Waking up frequently in the night is required to be corrected and the reasons are many. Many children have issues like bedwetting preventing them from sound rest.

Bedwetting is one of the most common pediatric health problems and is most common urological issues. Most bedwetting is usually developmental delay and not a physical illness or emotional disorder. Bedwetting children may suffer psychological injury or emotional stress when they feel ashamed by the condition and lose their self-esteem.

Some children have bruxism activity with symptoms like teeth grinding, jaw clenching, chewing and sucking. The underlying causes for bruxism may be poor bedtime habits, nutritional deficiencies, anxiety and emotional problems. Some youngsters wake up crying and the causes may be emotional stress, physical problems or nightmares.

Sleep walking, talking, night terrors are issues called 'parasomnias' requiring attention. Night terror is different from nightmare and in night terror, the youngster appears awake, cries uncontrollably, appears confused and is unable to communicate. However as the children grow and mature they get over most of these sleep issues and problems.

Sleep and children - How much sleep do children need?

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

How much sleep do children need? Good sleep is very important for children to have bubbling happy nature and renewed energy. For children, sleeping well is often the result of having good sleep habits and hygiene, which necessarily the parents are responsible for inculcating in their children.
How much sleep do newborns need?
Newborns usually sleep for 17 to 19 hours a day and wake up every two to three hours for feed. As long as the child is feeding well and gaining weight slight variance in wakeful time does not matter.

How much sleep do infants (3 to 11 months) need?
Infants sleep from 14 to 15 hours a day, sleeping five to six hours in the day and rest of the time in the night.
They may wake up twice or thrice in the night for feed.

How much sleep do toddlers need?
Toddlers sleep between 12 to 14 hours a day, of which two to three hours may be in the daytime.

How much sleep do preschool children need?
Children of three to four years age sleep between 11 to 13 hours a day of which two hours may be in the daytime.

How much sleep do school-age children need?
Children of school going age usually require about 10 hours of sleep in the night.
As they grow up the sleep requirement will come down to about eight hours a day.

Bedroom and quality of sleep

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

Bedroom and quality of sleep Making the bedroom sleep friendly increases the quality of sleep. Even after sleeping the required hours, if one still has problem waking up and concentrating on his daily works it is apparent that he must have had poor sleep and he requires to change his sleep environment.
Bedroom environment has a great effect on the quality of sleep. To have a good sleep it is important that the noise levels in the bedroom are low. Though people get used to sleep in noises like roaring of passing aircraft or traffic noise, studies have shown that these noises still disturb sleep.

Eliminating these noises may not be in our hands, but we can make our bedroom noise-tight by closing windows and openings. We can try masking the sounds of loud neighbours, barking dogs, traffic noise with fan, air conditioner or some soothing music. Ear plugs are a good choice in such environments. Sleeping kitten

Tips to improve sleep hygiene

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

Improve sleep hygiene Here are some tips to keep up your sleep hygiene. Do not go to bed unless you are sleepy. Read some magazine, hear to light music or read a book; do something relaxing and do not worry about getting sleep.
Doing something ritualistic like hearing to music, reading, warm bath or light snacks daily can help in getting sleep. Even after 15 minutes if you are not asleep, get out of the bed and do something relaxing. Better use living room for all other daytime activities and reserve bedroom only for going to sleep.

Do not watch TV, read, write, eat, play games or do telephonic conversations from the bed. Wake up early in the morning and adjust your going to bed accordingly to have a good eight hours sleep. Avoid naps in the afternoon and if at all you require to take one, do not sleep for more than an hour and have the nap in the early afternoon.

Do not take alcoholic beverages at least 4 to 5 hours before your bedtime. Do not take heavy meals in the evening and do not go to bed with an empty stomach.
Sleeping child
Do not exercise vigorously in the evening and give a gap of at least four hours before bedtime. Do not smoke before bedtime and also do not take anything stimulating like coffee or tea before bedtime.

How to sleep better - Tips on better sleep routine

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

How to sleep better - Sleep routine Most healthy adults require up to eight hours of restful sleep each night for their healthy function. However, sleep requirements may vary from person to person.
Follow a bedtime routine and everyday better go to bed at the same time. Even on weekends, fight the temptation to stay late and follow your bedtime routine.

With enough sleep you will wake up naturally without any help. If you are not able to wake up in time, then go to bed earlier so that you get your required sleep.

Even on weekends, do not sleep longer, and maintain your wake-up time. If you have to make up for lost sleep, take a short nap and do not change your routine sleeping schedule. Nap can be a great recharge for your energy, and short nap (about 30 minutes) in the early afternoon will do.

Do not sleep longer than one hour in the afternoon as it will affect your natural sleep-wake rhythm. Even if you feel sleepy after your dinner, keep awake by engaging yourself in mild activities till your bedtime. Totally avoid mind stimulating games, Internet browsing, caffeine drinks just before your bedtime.

What is sleep hygiene?

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

What is sleep hygiene? Sleep hygiene can be defined as the methods of controlling "environmental and personal behavioural factors interfering with sleep". These factors can both precede sleep and occur during sleep.
Sleep hygiene is the practice of following methods to ensure effective and restful sleep for promoting daytime alertness and agility. Following sleep hygiene also helps in avoiding certain kind of sleep disorders as well as treating them. The tell-tale sign of poor sleep hygiene is daytime sleepiness and trouble getting sleep.

Sleep hygiene involves timing of sleep, timing of food and quality of food, exercise, mental conditioning, following routines, sleep environment etc. Sleep hygiene is also about re-education of people with sleep problems by advising them about how to avoid sleep deprivation, how to respond to unwanted awakenings from sleep if these occur and about adaptive, homeostatic and circadian aspects of sleep control. The cure to poor sleep hygiene lies in optimizing your nightly rest with pre-sleep schedule, a routine sleep schedule and bedtime habits.