Blog

Sleep is a fundamental process for the development of all children.

When a child wakes up in the early hours of the morning – such as 4 or 5 a.m. – and does not go back to sleep after eating or changing a diaper, then it should be considered that he is waking up early. In these cases, family life is disrupted as when it is time for dinner, everyone is in a bad mood and tired.

When your child wakes up early, then either he sleeps for many hours the rest of the 24 hours (and therefore has time to rest), or he suffers from sleep deprivation (and therefore does not rest).

Night sleep is essential for his development, as during it various important changes occur in the body that help the development of the brain, cardiovascular system and immune system, and help fight toxins circulating in the blood.

Sleep deprivation has significant health implications for children, as it has been linked to developmental and cognitive problems as well as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

In addition, children who suffer from sleep deprivation are more likely to have nightmares, night terrors, and bedwetting (bedwetting).

Since most human habits are formed at a young age, good sleep habits are important to learn from infancy to ensure your child’s overall health and well-being.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that ensuring a normal sleep schedule is a significant achievement for parents and child.

To achieve this, parents must remain consistent and adhere to a regular schedule and specific sleep routines.

The recommended hours of sleep per day for each age group according to the American Academy of Pediatrics are:

• 14 to 17 hours for newborns and young infants (0 to 3 months)
• 12 to 15 hours for older infants (4 to 11 months)
• 11 to 14 hours for toddlers (1 to 2 years)
• 10 to 13 hours for preschoolers (3 to 5 years)
• 9 to 11 hours for school-age children (6 to 13 years)

In general, you should put your child to bed before they show signs of sleepiness, as they are overly tired and may be irritable.

On the contrary, by maintaining a consistent schedule, you avoid aggressive behaviors that can disrupt the normality of nighttime sleep. To achieve this, put your child to bed 15-20 minutes earlier than usual, in case your child is sleepy at bedtime. If after 2-3 days it is observed that the child remains tired, continue to move the bedtime by 15 minutes each night.

Attention should also be paid to his wake-up time, as excessive shifting of his schedule towards the late afternoon hours can have the opposite effects in the early morning hours.

To achieve the ideal result, you should properly manage the time of intermediate sleep during the day, which always counts towards the total sleep time that children need.

Therefore, excessive daytime sleepiness can lead to a significant reduction in nighttime sleep, without being beneficial for your child. Similarly, sleeping late in the afternoon can lead to a significant shift in bedtime. Therefore, several changes may be needed until you can ensure that your child has a manageable and correct sleep behavior.

When children have developed bad sleep habits, parents should be especially patient, as the process of improving schedules can take a long time, up to a month.

This process can be helped by introducing beautiful moments for the child that can help him overcome his irritation, such as reading a fairy tale, singing a lullaby and silencing devices that may disturb him (television, vacuum cleaner, etc.). Under no circumstances should we order the child to go to bed.

So, avoid saying things like “You have to go to bed now…” and try to replace them with more pleasant prompts like “It’s time for bed…”.

On weekends, despite the fact that the whole family tends to have different schedules, you should keep in mind that the child’s wake-up time should not change significantly because this can create problems for the upcoming night’s sleep. In general, it is recommended that the bedtime should not change by more than one hour until the child reaches school age.In any case, the child should be kept away from the television and other electronic devices (computers, tablets, mobile phones) for at least an hour before bedtime, as contact with the screen creates irritation and anxiety.

Under no circumstances should such devices remain in the child’s room – not even under the pretext of using them as an alarm clock, as your child may secretly be busy with them at night.

Every child is different and sleep habits may vary. However, if you do not notice any difference in your child after patiently trying to change the bedtime and wake-up times, it may be time to see the pediatrician.

We will look for things like snoring during the night, any changes in breathing or if the child is so tired in the morning that he has started to not perform at school. Some children need to visit an ENT doctor – or even have a sleep study in a specialized sleep study laboratory.