Feature/General
Better Z's Make for Healthier, Happier Children
By Elizabeth Edmonds, Ph.D.
August/September 2003

Perhaps one of the most neglected areas of our lives is sleep. Most of us are so busy between family and work that we have trained ourselves to forego one of the most essential needs of our body. Over time, this deprivation accumulates and cannot be restored by sleeping in late one Saturday morning. Sleep deprivation can have devastating effects on the body and the brain. A recent study demonstrated that driving a car while sleep deprived can be just as harmful as driving while intoxicated. Parents of young children may suffer from sleep deprivation for a number of years, especially if both parents are working full-time jobs. This can lead to a lower tolerance for stress, irritability, compromised brain functions (e.g., slow reaction time, reduced attention, reduced short-term memory, word retrieval problems, etc.), marital discord, and health problems.

As we forge ahead in our fast-paced lives, we are sometimes guilty of passing on these bad sleep habits to our children. We may allow them to stay up late for a multitude of reasons: participating in a sport; spending quality family time; finishing homework; we are too tired to enforce bedtime rules; they will not go to bed until we go to bed; etc. Whatever the reason, as with adults, children lose a lot more than sleep when they do not go to bed on time. An overtired child will naturally create more stimulating brain chemicals as a way to fight off the fatigue. This is why a child can seem “hyperactive” late in the day or past his or her bedtime.

One of the most important questions I ask parents during the initial interview in my office revolves around bedtime. What time does your child go to bed? What time does s/he have to get up? Does your child have a hard time waking up in the morning? Does your child take a nap? Where does your child sleep? How does your child get him or herself to sleep? Is your child’s bedtime different on the weekends and during the summer? Answers to these questions can help determine the presence of sleep deprivation as opposed to numerous other diagnoses that might follow the child for the rest of his/her life.

Sleep deprivation during rapid brain development may lead to permanent neurological changes. Infants, toddlers and preschoolers who miss out on sleep can be aggressive, hyperactive, distractable, and can appear delayed. Marc Weisbluth, M.D., a pediatrician who has developed a step-by-step program to help parents teach their children healthy sleep habits, is of the opinion that many sleep behaviors are learned. We must become good observers of our children so that we can establish their sleep schedules around their normal drowsy times. We must create a quiet and soothing atmosphere to promote sleep. We must teach them self-soothing techniques that they can use throughout their lifetime. Many times parents tell me that they allow their children to fall asleep while watching a video or television. This technique arouses the brain rather than calming it down and prevents the child from learning self-soothing methods.

Consistent sleep schedules are also paramount when raising children. Children who achieve the necessary amount of sleep are healthier, learn new material faster, are more adaptable to change, and are in a happier mood than children who are deprived of sleep. According to Weisbluth, older children who miss out on sleep over time will complain of stomachaches and headaches. These are the same complaints made by shift workers with unusual sleep schedules. Thus, we as parents cannot push sleep to the back burner when it is socially inconvenient or to satisfy our need to spend more time with our kids.

If your child does not seem to get the prescribed amount of sleep based on this chart, I suggest that parents work toward bringing their kids in line by using 15 minute increments over time. For example, if your four-year-old son is only getting 10 hours of sleep you should get him to bed 15 minutes earlier than normal for three nights in a row. The next three nights should be 30 minutes earlier than normal and so on until he reaches the total hours of sleep necessary for healthy development. Remember if your four-year-old son takes a two-hour nap every day then he only needs to sleep 9.5 hours or more at night. If your child sleeps more than the total hours reported by Ferber, than you may have a gifted child on your hands. Studies in this country and Japan have revealed just that; very bright children sleep for longer periods of time.

Finally I tell parents that when a child is well-rested they look forward to their nap time and bed time. Overtired children fight sleep and when we give in to the fight and allow them to establish their own bedtime we are creating future learning and attention problems and are teaching them poor sleep habits. I highly recommend Marc Weisbluth’s book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

Elizabeth Edmonds is a child psychologist practicing in Athens