![]() Your child will adjust to the pattern and associate steps of the routine with sleep. A surprise late night can set sleep cycles out of balance, so it is best to stick to an agreed routine as far as possible. ![]() Make a routine out of bedtime and don’t deviate from this on school nights. ![]() A few minutes here or there may not seem like a big deal, but they can play havoc on sleeping patterns. That sneaky snooze in the back of the car can be a big culprit for why your child struggles to shut off at night. Average figures across a number of sources are as follows:ġ3-18 years: 8-10 hours Top Tips for helping your child get more sleep Research and opinions about the necessary hours of sleep for children is are still being formed. Paired with decreased energy to exercise as well as simply having more hours in the day to snack, the chances of weight gain drastically increased. Tiredness causes a particular craving for high fat and sugar foods. It is no wonder childhood sleep-deprivation and childhood obesity both at an all time high according to Dr Cindy Gellner who writes – “Tired children may tend to eat more because of an increase in the hormone that causes hunger and a decrease in the hormone which reduces hunger.” This is particularly important to combat in children as unhealthy habits can spread to adulthood, so it may be good to know why they are associated. There is a strong statistical link between not getting enough sleep and being overweight. Lack of sleep and weight problems in children Making changes to their sleep routine and supporting with this can be a great first step in lifting their mood. This is demonstrative of the vast impact overtiredness can have on our kids.Īs a parent, it can be incredibly hard to think that your child is suffering. There are a surprising number of cases of children diagnosed with this disorder who ended up actually having sleeplessness as the source of their erratic behaviour. When a child is sleep-deprived they will struggle even more to get relaxed in bed as the pressure to fall asleep makes it impossible.ĪDHD is a condition many children are diagnosed with in the UK, but the symptoms of this frequently mirror the symptoms of overtiredness. One of the results of this is a vicious cycle where anxiety, depression and other issues make sleep more difficult to come by. Studies have shown that some 90% of children with a mental health disorder also suffer from sleep problems. Many of the problems listed above can be detrimental to the mental health of children at any age. Sleep-related mental health risks are significantly higher in teenagers. Troublingly, this can lead to risk-taking behaviour and unhealthy habits such as caffeine, drug or alcohol use. The expected teenage mood-swings will increase to a troubling level and irritability, aggression or hyperactivity takes over. Teenagers can have a greater struggle waking up in the morning, often being late for school with a lack of motivation. At this age, they may start to have bad dreams and sleepwalk if they are sleep-deprived. This unfortunately includes night time, as you may already know if they are hopping in your bed in the early hours. School will be a struggle as they get drowsy in class, struggling with homework and falling behind.Ĭhildren at this age can seem anxious, often not wanting to go to school or be separated from you. Tiredness can manifest as hyperactivity, a shortened attention span and a lack of interest or motivation. Responses will be slow and they may become defiant, seemingly for the sake of it. They may act fidgety with increased activity, crashing out for power naps in the back of cars or wherever possible. This increases dependency on mum and dad, resulting in clingy kids. Chronic overtiredness can be incredibly unhealthy, according to Stephen Grant, MD “Today’s children are notoriously sleep-deprived”. What effect can tiredness have on children?įrom minor grumpiness to full-blown mood swings, tiredness will affect our children one way or another. If we are to improve on this, it is important to understand the affects of poor sleep in our kids. Shockingly, British children are the most sleep-deprived in Europe (2011 study by TIMSS). With some 30-40% of children under the age of 11 (and more in older teens) are not sleeping enough, you are not alone if you are worried about your child’s sleep related health. Time and again, studies are showing that our kids are just not getting the sleep they require leading to a hoard of overtiredness issues.
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