Sleep Habits At All Ages

     One of the most common problems encountered by parents of children of any age are sleep problems. Questions about sleep patterns are some of parents most frequently asked questions.

     Sleep affects almost every aspect of our lives - not only our energy level and ability to concentrate, but even our basic physical health, immune system function and metabolism. If a child has sleep problems, the entire family can be affected.

     As every parent knows, newborn infants have very erratic sleep patterns. Up until a year of age, infants can need up to 18 hours of sleep daily, but that often comes in 3 hour bursts. Another problem with infants is that they can go from being happy to being miserably tired in less than a minute. Determining whether an infant is crying because he is hungry, wet or tired can be often be difficult for parents because each seems to come on instantaneously. Sometimes, the infant will give a clue with the rubbing of the eyes or ears, but most of the time a parent simply has to go through the list: first, check to be sure he is dry (and remember, sometimes even a small spot of wet will set an infant off); if not wet, try to feed – if the infant stops crying and starts eating, he was probably hungry. If the infant isn’t wet and refuses food, he is probably tired. Rock him, hold him and read to him for a short time and then put him in his crib and leave – even when the crying starts up again. If he is tired, he’ll cry for a while and then go to sleep. Remember infants often wake themselves up in REM dream sleep, so no matter when he wakes up, if he is crying inconsolably, go through the same list again. He might have woken himself up 2 hours into a 3 hour nap and what he actually needs is to go back to sleep for awhile. 

     As children get older, parents can establish and maintain good sleep habits. Co-sleeping in the parent’s bed should always be avoided. Co-sleeping with infants is dangerous and co-sleeping with older children it a difficult habit to change and results in neither the child nor the parent getting adequate sleep. Maintain the last hour before bedtime/lights out as a quiet time for reading together, baths, talking about the day and making plans for tomorrow. Most experts still recommend no “screen time” during this hour before bed – TV, computers, electronic games or phones. For parents who are both working and feeling like they don’t have enough time with their kids, this hour may end up being the best quality time of the day.

     After elementary school, the child needs to start to assume more control over his own bedtime routine. If parents have established good sleep habits since day one, this transition will be easier. Homework should be done early in the evening and the last hour before bed should still be quieter and more “screen-free”. Even though it is impossible to stop late-night phone calls and computer use, parents need to continue to encourage good sleep patterns.