Solve your Child's Sleep Problems

The importance of sleep is becoming more and more apparent to us.  Good sleep for children is absolutely crucial to the proper growth and development of their brains in the long term.  In the short term, children who are not sleeping properly will have difficulty in concentrating and will therefore be unable to learn effectively.  They will also be likely to display various behavioral problems.  This article will look at ways to improve your child's sleep.  Nutritional methods as well as practical steps you can take will be considered.

Many parents have got a child with sleep problems.  Normally this problem will manifest in one of two ways (or sometimes both).  The child will have difficulty in getting to sleep or they may wake in the night and be unable to go back to sleep.  Either way, the result is a cranky sleep deprived child and more often than not a cranky adult too.  

There have been many studies into the effects of sleep deprivation.  It has been shown that the brain does not function well on limited sleep.  Sleepy people find it very difficult to deal with rapidly changing situations and they find it hard to come up with the right words and ideas.  They are also likely to be moody and irritable and if sleep deprived for long periods they are likely to become depressed.  

It has also been shown that sleep deprivation will result in a lowered immune system.  This will result in the child being less able to fight common childhood infections as well as more serious illnesses. 

Inadequate sleep will therefore impact the child physically, intellectually and socially.  As a general rule school aged kids need between 9 and 12 hours of sleep a night.  This may start to reduce in the teenage years.  You can tell if your child is getting a good night's sleep quite easily - they should fall asleep easily, wake easily and not be tired during the day.

Food Allergies

A lot of discussions on sleep problems ignore the nutritional angle.  It is my belief that correct diet can have a huge impact on the quality of sleep your child has.  Patrick Holford  who is one of the U.K.'s leading Nutritionists says that it is important to rule out food allergies if your child is not sleeping well.  You should be able to get your child tested for food allergies through your family doctor.

Food allergies can sometimes lead to sleep apnea.  The effect of the allergy may be to give the child a chronically blocked up nose.  The child then struggles to breath to the point of waking up multiple times in a night or of having a very restless night.  Apnea can also be caused by infected tonsils, which are common in children but may need investigation.

Magnesium and Calcium

Holford also states that magnesium deficiency is increasingly common in children.  Magnesium and calcium work together to calm the body and help relax nerves and muscles.  These two minerals are therefore vital for good sleep.

Magnesium rich foods that you should make sure your child is getting plenty of include: seeds, nuts, green vegetables, wholegrains and seafood.

Calcium is to be found in dairy products, green vegetables, nuts, seafood and molasses.

You may wish to give your child vitamin supplements but you should first seek advice from your doctor.  

Cortisol

At night time, levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, should drop.  High levels of cortisol will suppress the release of growth hormone which is essential for tissue repair and growth of your child.  Stress and a diet high in stimulants and too much sugar will result in increased levels of cortisol.

It is therefore important to keep your child's blood sugar levels constant.  Avoid stimulants near bedtime - no caffeine and no chocolate.  Give your child a small snack half an hour before bedtime if you need to.  It should be something unprocessed - seeds, fruit, nuts for instance.  And have a wind down evening routine that will help your child to relax.  A warm bath and some quiet reading time are good.

Serotonin and Melatonin

The amount of serotonin and the hormone melatonin in our bodies increase in the evening as part of our natural sleep/wake cycle.  Deficiencies in either can disrupt sleep, the disruption then further depletes the body of these substances.  In order to make these substances our bodies need adequate amounts of Vitamin B6 and tryptophan.  Foods that are a good source of tryptophan include chicken, cheese, tuna, tofu, eggs, nuts, seeds and milk.  So a glass of milk before bed may indeed be a good thing.  

Melatonin production in the body is stimulated by darkness so lower the lights in your child's bedroom before bed time and total darkness for sleep is best.  Foods like sweetcorn, brown rice, oats, bananas and tomatoes all contain melatonin. 

Some studies have shown that supplements of melatonin can help children with sleep problems.  There has not been a great deal of research into the use of melatonin though so it shouldn't be used without the advice of a doctor.  It is not available without a prescription in the UK or in Australia.

Exercise is a very effective way to ensure that your child gets a good night's sleep.  Endorphins are released during exercise which help to promote calmness and a sense of well-being.

Encourage your child to exercise in the afternoons and on weekends rather than slumping in front of the television or computer game.  You may need to find an exercise or sport that they like.  Even a jump on the trampoline, a walk with the dog or a ride around the block on a bike will make all the difference.

Try not to exercise too close to bedtime though as this can be over stimulating.

Routine is really important to children.  You should aim to put them to bed at the same time every night.  Letting them stay up three hours later at weekends is like self induced jet lag - the equivalent of flying across three time zones every weekend.  

Television before bed is also a bad idea.  And for this reason it is best not to let your children have a television set in their bedrooms.  You may think that the quiet time in front of the TV is a good way for them to unwind but the brightness of the screen (and this goes for computer screens too) can delay melatonin production and also slow the drop in body core temperature that comes before sleep and is part of our natural circadian rhythm.  It is far better to have wind down reading or story time in a dimly lit bedroom.

The circadian rhythm system that helps regulate sleep cycles is both light and temperature sensitive.  If it is too hot the child may find it more difficult to fall asleep and sleep patterns are also changed - the hotter the room is the more non-REM sleep there is.  So keep your child's bedroom as close to a neutral temperature as you can.

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If following the above recommendations doesn't work then it might be a good idea to consult a sleep specialist.  Most pediatricians are not experts in sleep.

 Research by University of Michigan’s Dr. Ronald Chervin indicates as many as 25 percent of kids diagnosed with ADHD have an underlying sleep disorder causing their symptoms.  He believes that if treated for their sleep disorder, the ADHD would magically disappear. Despite the risks posed by sleep disturbance, the number of children treated for them is very small. Waiting to see if a child grows out of a sleep problem isn’t the answer.