The child does not sleep well: reasons and what to do?

The child does not sleep well - many parents face this problem; according to statistics, about 25% of all children under three years of age have sleep disorders, both daytime and nighttime.

The following amount of sleep is considered normal for children of different ages:

• From birth to six months of age – at least 16-17 hours;
• From six months to one year of age – at least 14 hours;
• From one to two years of age – at least 13.5 hours;
• At the age of two to three years - at least 13 hours;
• Over three years old – at least 10-11 hours.

Causes baby's lack of sleep

There are many reasons why a child sleeps poorly:

• Natural physiological characteristics not associated with pathology of internal organs and systems (adaptation to night sleep in the first three to four months of life);
• Violation of daily routine, failure to observe hygiene rules;
• Emotional stress, overload, not typical for age;
• Disorders of the functioning of internal organs and systems;
• Disruption of nervous system functions;
• A sudden change in diet, meal schedule;
• Physiological reasons – colic, teething;
• Bodily shock, hypothermia.

If a child sleeps poorly, it is necessary to closely monitor the dynamics of sleep disorders and, with the help of a doctor, find out the cause in order to eliminate it in a timely manner. Among the symptoms that should alert parents, the following can be noted:

• Makes sounds, screams in his sleep, shudders, but does not wake up;
• Grinding teeth in sleep (bruxism);
• Wakes up at night from nightmares;
• Enuresis;
• Respiratory failure, respiratory arrest (apnea);
• The child sleeps poorly, twitching his legs (restless legs syndrome).

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Pathogenesis

Since the main task of sleep, both for adults and children, is to restore the strength spent in active daytime activities, disturbed sleep can lead to weakness and irritability. During sleep, growth hormones are activated in the body of children, it is no coincidence that there is a belief that the more soundly a baby sleeps, the faster he grows. Also during sleep, the accumulation and restoration of important protective elements of the immune system - immunoglobulins and T-lymphocytes - occurs. All information and impressions are processed in the part of the brain that is responsible for short-term, operational memory. Then the information is transferred to long-term "archival" memory. Any lack of sleep or interruption of sleep disrupts the natural processes that tend to occur while the body is resting. Therefore, disturbed sleep means disrupted physiological processes.

Sleep, as is known, consists of several stages - phases. First comes the phase of sleep in which there are no dreams, the slow phase. Following it, the phase of paradoxical or rapid sleep should come into its own, in which a person usually dreams. In "slow" sleep, the entire body rests and restores its strength, in the paradoxical phase, impressions, thoughts, in a word, the information absorbed by the brain are processed, and the body begins to activate its processes. All intensive activity during the fast phase occurs only in the brain, the rest of the body does not take part in this "work", they continue to sleep. Children usually sleep longer than adults, in addition, children need good rest and sleep even more than food.

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Symptoms baby's lack of sleep

If a child sleeps poorly and twitches, screams in his sleep, this is a characteristic sign of a change in sleep phases, which have not yet normalized due to the age characteristics of the child. If such symptoms are repeated too often - every night, and last for a month, the child must be shown to a neurologist to exclude neurological pathology, epilepsy.

If a child sleeps poorly, creaks, grinds his teeth, he may have arrhythmia, blood pressure surges. In addition to the fact that bruxism damages tooth enamel, it may indicate a congenital jaw pathology, neurological problems. The child should be shown to a doctor if grinding of teeth continues for more than a week.

If a child often has bad, scary dreams, this may indicate psycho-emotional excitability, impressionability. Nightmares, as a rule, haunt boys from the age of three, and stop on their own by the beginning of puberty. The cause may be a movie, a book read before bed, music. Quite often, nightmares in children are a signal of the onset of latent diseases (dreaming of suffocation is a possible symptom of the onset of a runny nose). Nightmares, unlike night fears, are not accompanied by twitching of the limbs, the child can retell the plot of the dream upon awakening. As therapeutic measures, it is sometimes enough to exclude all irritants and ensure a comfortable fall asleep, that is, the slow sleep phase.

Sleep talking. In a dream, a baby can scream, pronounce strange sounds and words, this happens due to excessive excitability and the presence of irritants that provoke such a reaction in the child. Usually, "talkativeness" goes away on its own when parents provide a calm environment before falling asleep, exclude sharp sounds, watching aggressive films and reading books with a dramatic plot.

Somnambulism (sleepwalking). Such strange night "adventures" can occur in children of any age, with the exception, of course, of newborns. Most often, sleepwalking occurs in children from five to nine or ten years old. The child wakes up, may even say something, but with his eyes open, he does not see anyone and does not understand where he is. A minor episode of somnambulism is when a child wakes up in bed, sits up, but does not get up. A major episode is walking itself. You should not wake up such a "sleepwalker", you need to carefully monitor the child so that he does not unknowingly harm himself - does not fall, does not hit himself. If sleepwalking does not happen often, it is possible that this is an isolated manifestation of a psycho-emotional reaction. If sleepwalking is repeated regularly, the child must be shown to a neurologist and undergo all the prescribed tests to exclude organic pathology of the brain.

Treatment baby's lack of sleep

If parents do not notice alarming symptoms and associate sleep disturbances with the child’s excessive sensitivity, the following rules should be followed:

If possible, you can take a walk together in the fresh air one and a half to two hours before bed.

An hour before bedtime, you need to calm the child down, excluding vigorous activity, active games and fun. You can read a book, preferably of calm content, listen to slow music, tell a fairy tale.

You can't overfeed your child before bedtime, the last meal should be an hour before falling asleep. Before bedtime, you can give your child warm milk with honey or weak tea.

Evening baths with herbal infusion or addition of relaxing aromatic oils (if the child is not allergic to them) have a good effect. Melissa herb, brewed in a proportion of 2 tablespoons per glass of boiling water, is filtered and added to the water. The water temperature should not be too hot, 37-38 degrees is enough. Lavender or lemon oils have a good relaxing effect. Add 3-4 drops of essential oil to a bath filled with warm water. Essential oils can be used for bathing children from three years of age.

You can put a bag filled with dry lavender or valerian root under the pillow where the baby sleeps. These plants are considered essential oils and even in dry form emit an aroma that can reduce anxiety and calm the child.

Before going to bed, you can give your child a weak chamomile decoction with a teaspoon of honey. Chamomile has a mild calming effect, just like natural honey. In addition, both chamomile and honey help normalize digestion, which can be one of the causes of restless sleep.

A child sleeps poorly, as a rule, for physiological reasons or due to external irritants, both of which are fairly easy to eliminate. All other cases of sleep disorders should be supervised by a doctor: conduct a comprehensive examination and prescribe appropriate age-appropriate treatment.