Are Child Sleep Problems Affecting Your Family?

Does your child find it hard to get out of bed in the morning? is he sleepy during the day, falling behind in school or just plain cranky?

Although we all need enough sleep to function well during the day, children especially need their sleep, because it's during sleep that body produces growth hormones. These hormones are essential for healthy development.

Almost one in three children are sleep deprived. So why is this happening and what can we do about it?
There are many reasons children may not be getting the sleep they need. Most of us know the more common things that keep our kids awake at night, for instance stress, not having a sleep routine and lack of exercise. There are however, a few lesser known causes of sleep problems in children and we'll have a look at some of them here.

Television and computers in the bedroom

Computer games and television in the bedroom are among the biggest child sleep stealers! Playing computer games is both entertaining and stimulating. If your child is using computers or the television to unwind, they're probably having the opposite effect.

Television can stimulate our children's minds to the point where relaxation is impossible especially if the program is scary. Do you know what your child is watching in his bedroom? Noise and light, even dim light, can make it difficult to fall asleep. Light prevents the brain from producing the hormone melatonin which induces sleep. The bright, flickering television or computer screen prevents this essential sleep hormone from forming.

Soft drinks

You wouldn't give your child a cup of coffee or tea in the evening, but how about a chocolate bar or a glass of cola at lunchtime? Caffeine is a notorious stimulant and most of us insomniacs know not to drink coffee late at night. But did you know caffeine can take 6-8 hours more to leave the body? So that mid afternoon cuppa may be causing your night time restlessness and than can of cola after school could be keeping your child up long after he should be asleep.

Time stress

Does your child have too much to do? School, homework, sports or coaching. Children have a lot of opportunities these days but less and less time to fit everything in. This can cause stress and can be a major cause of sleep problems in children as there is no time left at the end of the day to unwind.

The link between obesity and childhood sleep apnea

Overweight children can be prone to childhood sleep apnea which is a serious disease where the body doesn't get enough oxygen. Not many people realize children can suffer with sleep apnea but it's a real risk for overweight children. Best remedies are lots of exercise and less junk food. Oh! and please take them to the doctor if you suspect childhood sleep apnea.

There is also a link between overweight kids and other sleep problems due to metabolism and also hormone function. These theories are being tested still but may be due to sleep deprived children needing to overeat to create energy for day to day living.

Childhood nightmares

Dreams are a necessary and natural way to process what happens in our lives, but does your child have nightmares or bad dreams? Kids who have nightmares regularly, sometimes resist the urge to sleep because they are afraid of scary dreams.

These are some of the reasons your child may be sleep deprived. As you've probably figured out they also apply to us adults!

About the Author

Child sleep problems can affect the whole family, not to mention your child's wellbeing. Visit your resource for good sleep advice and articles. Wendy Owen is a health researcher and author.

Sleep Disorder and Its Cause

There are a lot of causes of sleep disorders, from simple nightmares up to more serious one such as neurological problems. This sleeping problem is indicated by the difference from the normal sleeping pattern. It is indicated by the sleeplessness, intermittent sleeping behavior, or oversleeping.

If you have constant sleep disorder, it will be the serious problem since it will affect your daily lives. Further, it is potential to cause the severe impairments in the soul and body. Sleep disorders are varied. Each has its own symptom. Therefore, this disorder is classified into some different categorization such as parasomnias, dysomnia, and some others. Several common disorders include sleep apnea, insomnia, bruxism, snoring, and also night walking. Knowing the causes of this disorder is very necessary since the treatment is focused on the underlying cause.

The main classifications of causes of this sleeping problem include external, internal, and also disturbance of the normal circadian pattern. Mostly, this kind of disorders is associated with some other organ disease and main factor of the internal sleep disorder's cause. Most of the diseases are potential to cause this disorder.

The medical conditions which are potential to cause the kind of disorder include the sleep-related gastroesophageal reflux, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrositis syndrome, peptic ulcer, neck problems, and also back problems. In addition, some other impairment in the brain can also cause this disorder such as neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and central apnea. Furthermore, breathing problem such as snoring and obstructive sleep can also lead to this disorder.

Some other causes of this sleeping problem include the mental problems including depression, anxiety, pain attacks, paranoia, bipolar syndrome, and also schizophrenia. The chronic mental disorder will cause the severe sleep disorders.

Apart from the physiological and psychological effect, sleep problem can also be caused by your own lifestyle. Alcoholism and caffeine are potential to cause this disorder. For this reason, keeping a healthy life style will beneficial to reduce the effect of sleep disorders to you.

About the Author

Sleep disorders are the most common symptom among all the serious disorders. Consulting the physician will be more beneficial. In addition, you can also use a helpful sleeping machine such as sound therapy machine. It can produce natural sound to help you sleep well. There are a lot of options available for you such as marpac sleep mate machine.

Eliminating Most Toddler Sleep Problems Lies in the Creation of a Routine

When we are talking about toddler sleep problems, we should definitely divide them into the difficulty to put the kids to sleep and the issues that may appear in a variety of forms over night. Many parents are frustrated when nothing seems to work when trying to put their toddlers to sleep: all of a sudden the little ones need to eat something, potty, listen to a story, get a favorite blanket or toy and so on. What exactly could one do to solve toddler sleep problems? There are various reasons for which a child refuses to go to sleep; first and foremost try to identify what the problem and what is actually going on in your child's mind.

Some toddler sleep problems are triggered by fear of the dark: you may easily solve this by letting a bed lamp on over night or an electric candle that would spread a diffuse and comforting light in the room. Sometimes, children find it impossible to go to sleep because a lot of interesting things seem to go on in the house: hearing the parents voices talking about something may leave the impression that there is something going on that he or she needs to know. Or there could be simply the well known separation anxiety that affects most toddlers.

The key to eliminating most toddler sleep problems lies in the creation of a routine. Like for many adults who use the pattern creation to deal with insomnia, parents can apply the same principles for their siblings. Start the bet time routine the same way and carry it on until the toddler is ready to fall asleep. A possible example would involve: teeth brushing, story reading, then sleeping. Try to stick to the same bed hour and not change it every evening; most parents find it comfortable to put their toddlers to sleep at nine o'clock.

There are psychological solutions to solving toddler sleep problems; there are reward games you can play with the child reinforcing positive statements and offering small prizes when he or she goes to sleep without any fuss at all. Severe measures need to be taken when you fail to see any results after several weeks of such attempts, in such cases there may be something wrong with the way your child perceives sleep and being alone and you will have to look deeper into the matter.

About the Author

Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Insomnia for Years. For More Information on Toddler Sleep Problems, Visit His Site at TODDLER SLEEP PROBLEMS