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Is
Your Child Getting Enough Sleep? How Can You Tell and
What Can You Do about It?
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF)
released a survey which estimated that one-third of
toddlers and preschoolers and nearly one in four school
aged children aren't getting enough sleep.
The consequences for lack of sleep are hardly unknown
to parents who have themselves been victims of sleepless
nights during the early childhood years. But what are
the specific problems that affect children who are lacking
sleep?
SLEEP AND MEMORY:
In studies with adults it has been shown
that a lack of sleep affects attention and arousal.
We are all aware of the problems caused by drowsy drivers
who have been at the wheel too long and veer off the
road or cause deadly accidents.
In a study with children who were restricted
in sleep they did not score as well on memory, attention
and learning tests the next day.
SLEEP AND BEHAVIOR:
In an article on children and sleeping
problems by Today's Parent there was a quote from John
Bates, a developmental psychologist. In two studies
trying to find a link between sleep deficit and behaviour
problems he stated that "it could be that sleep
deficit causes the behavior problems or it could be
that behaviour problems, and all that goes along with
that, could make it harder for children to settle down
for sleep, or that some unknown problem is causing both
the sleep and behaviour problems."
Whichever is the case he still claims
that in some cases they have had success and achieved
dramatic behavioral improvements simply by increasing
a child's sleep.
Although this should not be considered
a solution for serious behavior problems, if your child
seems unduly irritable, over-active or cranky you may
find putting them to bed an hour earlier will create
a drastic improvement.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO THEY NEED?
Each individual has their own needs,
but generally speaking the NSF suggests children three
to five should get 11 to 13 hours of sleep (including
naps); five to 12 year olds need 10 to 11 hours and
teens 13 to 18 should try to get 8.5 to 9.25 hours per
night.
If you suspect a problem related to
sleep then consider whether you notice if the problem
is connected. Is your child more irritable and cranky
late in the day? Is she often hard to waken or difficult
to get to sleep in the first place? Does she waken frequently
during the night?
If you feel the issue is sleep related
and putting your child to bed earlier is not working,
talk to your doctor about other steps you can take.
It is a long term benefit to diagnose sleeping problems
early on.
1howto.com
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