Mind Your Child's Sleeping Habits

By: Judah Gutwein, for Regency Nursing & Post-acute Rehabilitation Centers

Sleep!

Elusive sleep is something we all crave and something we all feel we don’t get enough of.

Certainly, everyone needs a good night’s sleep and overall good sleeping habits in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

However, normal sleep deprivation is part and parcel of our daily lives and a byproduct of the fact that we work long hours to place food on our tables.

To be sure, there are certainly clinical sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy.

However, basic sleep deprivation needn’t be associated with the aforementioned disorders and should be avoided and rectified in order to avoid developing into a clinical sleep disorder down the road.

Sleep deprivation  in children, is especially harmful and can have long term consequences on their behavioral and cognitive development.

Children need proper sleep in order to develop both mentally and physically.

In fact, by the age of two most children will have spent more time asleep than awake in one of two phases of sleep (both of which, are of vital importance); REM and NREM sleep.

REM sleep stands for Rapid Eye Movement, otherwise known as "active sleep."

In this stage, a child is “actively” asleep and dreaming. The heart rate and breathing is irregular and the body is immobile.

NREM sleep stands for Non-rapid Eye Movement, otherwise known as “quiet sleep.”

During the NREM stage, there is more blood being directed through the organs and vital hormones are released to aid in growth and development.

So what can you do to improve your child’s sleeping habits?

• Establish a regular time for bed each night.
• No food or drinks with Caffeine before right bed time! (big no-no)
• No TV or computer/radio before bedtime
• Room temperature should be even and balanced
• No loud music playing nearby
• No large meals close to bedtime
• Make bedtime a relaxing period, with soothing music and a bubble bath (always a treat for children).
• Do not let children engage in rigorous activity right before bedtime.