Sound Sleep Guide

Archive for May, 2007

Just like adults, toddlers sleep problems can occur, which could result in lack of sleep, fear of sleeping alone, restless sleep and insomnia. Nightmares are the most common sleep problems of toddlers.

Dreams usually occur when people are in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, which occurs about four to five times each night. Although many dreams are easily forgotten, most nightmares can wake up your toddler from bed and call for his or her parents.

Toddler sleep problems generally start at three years of age up to eight years old. This stage is the toddler’s most active fantasy life, which results in more realistic and vivid dreams. However, when nightmares occur, your toddler will be wide-awake and responsive after a certain nightmare. Because of this, your son or daughter will still recall details of the nightmare even in the next morning.

Although toddler sleep problems, especially nightmares, are normal, a persistent and nightly set of nightmares is not healthy for both your toddler and other people in your household because it could cause sleepless nights. Continuous nightmares are usually triggered by stress, change in routines or a response to a store, TV show or violent movie. The best way to fight toddler sleep problems associated with nightmares is to reassure him or her that the dream is not real. You can also avoid stress in your toddler’s life and avoid telling horror stories or watching brutal shows before bedtime.

Understanding Night Terrors and Sleepwalking

The other two common toddler sleep problems are night terrors and sleepwalking, which are both normal during this stage of your child. Compared to nightmares, night terrors can be frightening to parents because your toddler is not aware that he or she is screaming or crying for several minutes in the middle of the night. Since he is not aware, you cannot reassure them that the night terror is not real. For this reason, you just need to ensure that your child returns to bed safely.

Sleepwalking is a normal sleep problem of toddlers. Just like night terrors, your child is not aware of what he or she is doing, such as walking around the house. Sleepwalkers usually go back to bad in a couple of minutes, so it is not advisable to wake them up while sleepwalking. Instead, you should make sure that your toddler goes back to bed safely.

When nightmares, sleepwalking, night terrors and other toddler sleep problems continue to persist, it is important that you seek counseling or medical attention to disrupt the cycle and allow your child to have proper sleep.

When You Just Can’t Take Them Crawling Into Bed with You

You know the situation—it’s the middle of the night, and you’ve been sound asleep for several hours. Suddenly, you hear a little voice say, “Mommy, can I come into bed with you?” You sigh, roll over, and make space for your toddler to climb into the bed in between you and your spouse. Normal toddler behavior, right? Perhaps so.

But maybe your toddler could be suffering from a toddler sleep disorder-one of many sleep disorders that most commonly afflicts toddlers and young children. Oh, great, you may be thinking. I’ve just stopped worrying about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and now I have to worry about a toddler sleep disorder? Well, the good news is that you shouldn’t worry too much. Only about 10 per cent of toddlers are actually afflicted by a toddler sleep disorder.

In fact, it is common for toddlers to have trouble sleeping during the night, especially if they are plagued by frequent ear infections. Boys are generally more likely than girls to have trouble sleeping, because they are more susceptible to other disorders like hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder that can affect sleeping habits. However, despite the low risk factor that your toddler could have a toddler sleep disorder, it is important to be aware of the possibilities and seek treatment if necessary.

Common Sleep Disorders Found in Toddlers

There are some sleep disorders that, while they can affect anyone, are most commonly found in toddlers. These toddler sleep disorders include: sleep apnea, sleepwalking, night terrors, head banging, and rocking. Common symptoms of a toddler sleep disorder are: snoring, breathing noisily, breathing through the mouth, coughing or choking throughout the night, excessive sweating, confusion when waking up during the night, rocking or head banging when falling asleep, looking scared when waking up in the middle of the night, kicking, or sleepwalking.

One of the main ways that you can help your child get the right amount of sleep is by establishing a stable bedtime routine and sleep schedule. Also, if you suspect that your child has a toddler sleep disorder, you should contact your child’s doctor immediately. Remember, it is not uncommon for toddlers to have trouble sleeping. However, many sleep disorders are genetic and can be passed down to toddlers and children from their parents. If this is the case, it is important to diagnose the sleep disorder as early as possible in order to begin treatment as soon as possible.

A line of teenagers stand waiting in front of a soda machine. A sixteen-year-old boy lies stretched across a bench inside the school. As you walk past a classroom, children sit with their heads resting on the desks, awaiting another day of school to begin.

As one walks through a typical suburban high school at 7:00 in the morning, it is not uncommon to see the aforementioned sights. What does this mean? Teens are tired! It is easy to blame it on the teens themselves—after all, why not just go to bed earlier? Well, experts have come to conclude that it really is not the teenagers fault at all. More likely it is a result of teenage sleep disorder.

Just for Teens: Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

The teenage sleep disorder than most commonly affects teens is Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. While this teenage sleep disorder doesn’t affect every teen, many teens can blame this teenage sleep disorder for their sleep problems. As teenagers enter in to the adolescent years; the circadian rhythms in their bodies change. The change causes teens to naturally be inclined to fall asleep later and wake up later as well. This change occurs because melatonin is produced later at night, whereas children and adults produce melatonin earlier in the evening. The delayed production of melatonin, which is a sleep hormone, means that teens don’t begin to feel sleepy until later. Thus, the teenage sleep disorder Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome came to be.

Some Other Causes

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is not the only teenage sleep disorder. There are many other teenage sleep disorder that affect teenagers and cause them to not get enough sleep. For example, some other common teenage sleep disorder include: insomnia, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, Restless Leg Syndrome, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Gastro Reflux Disease, nightmares, and sleepwalking.

Treatment

There are many ways to treat teenage sleep disorder besides going to the doctors. While the doctor can give you medication that could help teenage sleep disorder, there are also many behavioral changes that could be made as well. For example, many teens could stop drinking caffeine to help a sleep disorder. Or, teens could not play video games or watch television late at night. Making the small changes in your daily life can have an amazing effect on a teenage sleep disorder.