Sleep is an essential, active, and dynamic physiologic process that has a critical impact on health, development, and daytime function. During sleep, our body conserves energy, restores its normal processes, and promotes physical growth and development. Sleep improves mood and is important for optimal functioning.
The two stages of sleep include rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep, and these alternate multiple times through the night, with increasingly longer and deeper REM periods occurring towards morning. Cultural and genetic factors are responsible for variations in sleep behaviour but not in sleep requirements.
How much sleep do children need?
As children grow, their sleep needs change considerably. Newborns have a fragmented awake-sleep pattern and require the greatest total sleep time. Sleep times gradually decrease from infancy to adolescence. Adequate sleep duration is necessary for optimal daily function and good health.
The minimum sleep required from 0–3 months is 11 hours (recommended: 14–17 hours); 4–11 months is 10 hours (recommended: 12–15 hours); 1–2 years is 9 hours (recommended: 11–14 hours); 3–5 years is 8 hours (recommended: 10–13 hours); 6–13 years is 7 hours (recommended: 9–11 hours); and 14–17 years is 7 hours (recommended: 8–10 hours).
Insufficient sleep leads to poor health. Adverse effects include daytime sleepiness, irritability, behavioural problems, learning difficulties, poor academic performances, and an increased likelihood of traffic accidents in young people.
Tips to help your child sleep better.
Establishing good sleep hygiene means developing habits that help children get good sleep. Behavioral sleep problems are caused by continuing and reinforcing bad habits over years.
- Obeying the body clock: Sleeping at the same time every night helps your child’s body remember to feel sleepy. During holidays, the difference in sleep time should not be more than an hour.
- Improving the sleep environment: If possible, have a separate room or area for sleep in a quiet environment with dim lighting and a comfortable room temperature to improve the child’s ability to sleep well. The child’s bed must be comfortable, feel safe, and be away from TVs, computers, and digital devices.
Establishing a Sleep Routine
Set up the same routine to allow the child to get into a habit. This could include:
- Avoiding TV, computer, or video games 1 hour before sleep time.
- Read or tell a bedtime story to the child.
- If you cannot control the noise, try using a pair of earplugs.
- Taking a warm bath.
- Avoiding chocolate, caffeinated, or sugary drinks at bedtime and replacing them with warm milk.
Promoting Sleep Settling in Babies
Babies need to settle down to sleep by themselves, and parents can help.
- 0–6 months: The baby can be held in arms until they fall asleep. When putting someone in a cot, the carer may use a soothing voice or gentle stroking. The second option is to place the baby in a cot when calm and drowsy and gently stroke them till they fall asleep, comforting them with soft sounds.
- 6 months to 2 years: Controlled comforting—the mother leaves the baby before he is asleep and waits outside the room. She comes back if the baby cries after a brief time (2–4 minutes) and talks to or pats the child without picking him or her up, and again leaves as soon as the child is quiet and before he or she falls asleep.