The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is important for many reasons: it refreshes and restores energy levels. It's important for learning and memory, and for physical and psychological well-being and mood.

Sleep also helps to fight against illness and helps injuries to repair. It enhances work or school performance. Without sleep, our ability to concentrate is affected. Poor sleep not only impacts the well-being of the child or young person, it also impacts the parent or carer.

Recommended Sleep Time (The American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

Age	Amount of sleep recommended in a 24-hour period
4-12 months	12-16 hours (including naps)
1-2 years	11-14 hours (including naps)
3-5 years	10-13 hours (including naps)
6-12 years	9-12 hours
13-18 years	8-10 hours

How common are sleep problems?

In general, less than 3 out of 10 children experience sleep problems.

Around 8 out of 10 children with an intellectual disability experience sleep problems which tend to be more persistent.

Statistics show that 50 to 65% of children with cerebral palsy and 65 to 83% of autistic children have sleep difficulties.

Your body clock

Your ‘body clock’ is your own body’s natural need to do activities each day, for example to sleep at night and eat at certain times of the day. You can help 'set' your body clock to the correct times by following a regular daily routine.

Setting your body clock is affected by external factors such the light and dark cycle each day, temperature or your eating and drinking cycles. These external factors are referred to as ‘Zeitgebers'. Zetigeber is the German word for ‘time giver’ or time cues. Zeitgebers are a signal to your body to do something.

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to a set of habits and practices you put in place that support you and/or your child to sleep well on a regular basis. It’s a way for you to also put to use the signals (Zeitgebers) in your day that will tell your body it’s time to get ready to sleep. These include what you eat before bed, the temperature of your bedroom, and low-lighting in your room.

Important things to consider for sleep hygiene would be:

Environment

Bedding
Bedroom temperature
Noise level in bedroom
Ambient lighting

Scheduling

Regular bedtime
Regular wake time

Sleep Practices

Have a regular bedtime routine. For example, for your child, this might be a quiet bath, a familiar blanket, and story time.
The use of a visual schedule to support the steps comprising a bedtime routine can be particularly helpful for young children and those on the autistic spectrum.
Avoid routines that depend solely on the caregiver, for example, rocking a child to sleep each night. This discourages ‘self-soothing’.

Physiological (body-related)

Calming activities at night rather than vigorous activities.
Light snack before bedtime. Foods to help with sleeping better:
- Bananas
- Oats
- Peanuts
- Warm milk
- Yoghurt
- Almonds
- Honey
- Turkey.

Using a sleep diary

A sleep diary is a tool used to track and observe your child's sleep and sleep routine.

The parent or carer is asked to track their child’s sleep routine using a sleep diary over the course of 7 nights.

The tool is then used to look for patterns or behaviours or different factors influencing your child's sleep.

The sleep diary will then be used as a really useful tool to problem solve with the CDNT to see what practical supports or strategies can be put in place to support better sleep.

A tool for teaching: bedtime pass

A bedtime pass is a useful tool for older children. This is a card or object that your child presents to you if they wake at night. Your child can use it in exchange for something brief, such as a hug or a glass of water.

They may only use the pass one time during the night and once the pass is used it is given to the parent.

If the pass is not used all night, it can be exchanged for a sticker. Accumulating a number of stickers can be exchanged for a special treat. It can be something simple like spending time with you.

Video

This video on 'The Importance of Sleep in Children' was delivered by the Waterford South City CDNT. If you have any questions about sleep, please contact your local CDNT. You will find all of the contact details for the Dublin South Kildare and West Wicklow CDNTs here.