Sleep Health Article

Losing sleep

All children need regular and adequate sleep to assure optimal mental and physical health. Sleeping patterns developed in infancy usually persist into adulthood. It is important that parents help the child to establish a healthy bedtime routine that will assure adequate sleep time, minimize bedtime struggles, and help to reduce the occurrence of common childhood sleep problems.

As reported by Steven Reinberg, research by Maria M. Wong of the University of Michigan, published in 2004 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, cautions parents to pay more attention to their children's sleep habits. "Sleep problems are a risk factor for alcohol and drug problems," Wong concluded from data obtained in the first study to link alcohol and drug use with sleep disorders in early childhood. The study obtained sleep data from 257 boys ages three to five years and followed them until they were 12–14 years old. Almost half of the children in the study who experienced childhood sleep problems began using alcohol and drugs by the time they were 14 years old.

In many households, electronic distractions interfere with the establishment of a regular bedtime routine that would help a child to settle down and prepare for restful sleep. Calming-down activities, such as being read to by a parent, have been replaced with electronic stimulation resulting in less sleep time.

As reported in Manchester Online, Luci Wiggs, a research fellow at Oxford University, is co-author of a 2004 poll of more than 1,000 parents with children four to 10 years of age. She found that 67 percent of these children had a television, computer, or game machine in their bedroom. These stimulating diversions, which she calls "digital distractions," resulted in a cumulative sleep deficit for at least one fifth of the children surveyed that may "compromise children's physical health, academic achievements, and mental health."

Children who consume caffeine throughout the day, in soda or iced tea beverages, also lose the sleep required for optimal health and cognitive functioning. A survey by the National Sleep Foundation released in 2004 found that 26 percent of children ages three and older drink at least one caffeinated beverage a day and suffer a loss of about 3.5 hours of sleep each week.

Parental concerns

Parents are on a journey of discovery with each child whose temperament, biology, and sleep habits result in a unique sleep-wake pattern. It can be frustrating when children's sleep habits do not conform to the household schedule. Helping the child develop good sleep habits in childhood takes time and parental attention, but it will have beneficial results throughout life. An understanding of the changing patterns of the typical sleep-wake cycle in children will help alleviate any unfounded concerns. Maintaining a sleep diary for each child will provide the parent with baseline information in assessing the nature and severity of childhood sleep problems. Observant parents will come to recognize unusual sleep disruptions or those that persist or intensify.

When to call the doctor

Developmental changes throughout childhood bring differences in the sleep-wake cycle and in the type and frequency of parasomnias that may interrupt sleep. Medical consultation to rule out illness, infection, or injury is prudent if the child's sleep problems prevent adequate sleep and result in an ongoing sleep deficit. As reported by News-Medical in Child Health News, children's sleep problems should be taken seriously as they may be a "'marker' for predicting later risk of early adolescent substance use." In the same article, University of Michigan psychiatry professor Kirk Brower, who has studied "the interplay of alcohol and sleep in adults," stressed that "The finding does not mean there's a cause-and-effect relationship."

Consultation with a child psychologist may be helpful if frightening dreams intensify and become more frequent as this may indicate a particular problem or life circumstance that needs to be changed or one that the child may need extra help working through.

Most childhood sleep disturbances will diminish over time as the brain matures and a regular sleep-wake cycle is established. Parental guidance is crucial to development of healthy sleep habits in children.

BOOKS

Hobson, J. Allan. Dreaming: An Introduction to the Science of Sleep. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Moorcroft, William H. Understanding Sleep and Dreaming. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2003.

Schroeder, Carolyn S., and Betty N. Gordon. Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, 2nd ed. New York: Guildford Press, 2002.

PERIODICALS

"Kids' Sleep Problems Can Portend Alcohol and Drug Use." Connecticut Post, April 15, 2004. Available online at <www.lexis-nexis.com> (accessed October 6, 2004).

Moss, Lyndsay. "Computers and Games 'Keeping Children Awake."' Press Association News, March 26, 2004. Available online at <lexis-nexis.com> (accessed August 3, 2004).

Wilmott, Bob. "Many Children Fall Short of the Sleep They Need." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 26, 2004. Available online at <www.lexis-nexis.com> (accessed August 3, 2004).