Healthy Sleep

Sleep Problems? What is Normal?

Can you remember the last time you had a healthy sleep and woke refreshed?

No? You must be a parent!

Sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture for a very good reason. You don’t really know how important it is in your life until you can’t get enough of it.

Sometimes it helps to know that interrupted sleep is part of being a parent. The first year is the toughest, but it continues to improve over time.

You must expect your baby to get you up during the night, every night for the first two years. At first it will be 2, 3 or 4 times. Maybe more. All children are different. Then it will gradually become less as your child sleeps for longer periods of time.

Sleep problems in children are usually defined by how much a child’s sleep patterns interfere with a parent’s ability to function.

If a parent finds they aren’t able to perform at work as expected, or just can’t get enough rest, then they feel the child has sleep problems.

Yes, you are entitled to healthy sleep and yes, when you have to work this is essential, but you can’t force a child to sleep just because you expect it to.

What is Normal Sleep?

Your new born may sleep for anything up to 20 hours a day. She will wake regularly, and often, for feeds and comfort.

By 3 months she will be able to sleep for longer blocks of time. She may be able to sleep for a block of 5 hours at least once in a 24 hour period. If you are lucky this will happen at night. By the time she is a toddler she will need about 14 hours in total with a long sleep (more than likely broken) during the night with a nap in the afternoon.

School age children need between 10 to 12 hours sleep. This decreases steadily until they reach their mid teens when they match adults at 7 to 8 hours per night.

Sleep occurs in cycles of light sleep and deep sleep. At the end of each cycle we wake briefly. We may change our position, pull blankets up, then immediately drift back to sleep.

For adults this cycle completes every 90 minutes.

Babies complete this cycle every 60 minutes. So at worst you may have to get up to them every hour if they find themselves unable to go straight back to sleep.

This may be looked on as sleep problems. It won’t last.

Routines to Maintain Healthy Sleep

Current research into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) shows that the best place for babies to sleep for the first 6 months is in a bassinet or cot next to the parent’s bed.

Make sure you follow the guidelines published by SIDS for your country and region when make up your child’s cot or bassinet.

Having a routine leading up to bedtime is very important for all of us. It helps us to wind down and get into a relaxed, sleepy frame of mind. This works especially well for babies and children.

While your child is very young and still needing sleep during the day, their daytime routine can just be a scaled down version of the night time one.

A good night time routine is one that can be followed easily, is quiet and calming– no games or loud behavior – and enjoyable.

A Sample Night Routine

• Bath time.
• A story (or three).
• A song.
• Cuddles and a kiss.

When your child is older you may like to have a quiet talk about their day as well.

Always let children know when bed time is coming. Older children especially need to have a warning that bedtime is coming. It allows them to finish games or activities they may be engrossed in and helps to cut down on arguments.

If you know your child is worried about something – starting school, an argument with a friend – take time to linger by their bed a little longer than usual. Give them extra cuddles. An older child may want to talk about it until they feel better.

Settling in for the Night

An older child may be happy with “I love you” and something like “Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

Settle your child to sleep using the methods described here…

Take some heart in knowing that over time your child will awaken less during the night and your usual healthy sleep will return!