5 Strategies for Preventing Pediatric Sleep Disorders
The Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends varying bedtime requirements for different age groups of children. If your baby is between 4 to 12 months old, the baby will require about 16 hours of sleep. But if your baby is 3 to 5 older, the recommended resting time is about 13 hours. Sleep duration should last about 12 and 10 hours for school-going kids and teens. Your kid will likely get Glendale pediatric sleep disorders when they lack sufficient quality sleep. Enough bed rest is vital for stimulating healthy growth and development in children and adults. According to numerous studies, a child who receives adequate sleep frequently will benefit from a better quality of life, attention, learning, regulation of emotions, and mental and physical health.
Without enough sleep, your child can suffer from various sleep disorders, such as childhood insomnia, sleepy teen syndrome, excessive daytime sleepiness, movement disorders, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the muscles supporting soft tissues in the throat relax temporarily. That leads to the narrowing and closing of the airway, cutting off breathing momentarily. Consequently, below are the tips or strategies for ensuring sufficient sleep for your kid and keeping sleeping problems at bay.
- Understand the duration of sleep a child requires
Due to different developmental changes and requirements, the amount of sleep your child needs will largely depend on age. For example, teenagers require at least eight hours of sleep time. Also, if your child rested well during the day, that can reduce the hours of sleep during the night.
- Set up the bedroom to promote sleep
The bedroom’s nighttime environment must always be safe, secure, and tranquil to promote sleeping.
The environment should be moderately hot and cold and not excessively dark, which can scare your child not to sleep during the night.
If an outside light source reaches the bedroom, use heavy curtains to stop that interference.
Also, ensure that there are no sources of sound from another room in the home reaching into the bedroom. Your child cannot sleep if noises come from a music player, videogame, television, or computer.
- Exposure to the sun in the morning
The light or dark cycle of the sun plays a significant role in the circadian clock, alertness, and sleep. The body’s circadian clock responds to the level of light during the day or night to make someone awake or sleepy.
Therefore, encourage your child’s exposure to the morning sunlight for about 30 minutes or one hour.
- Enforce a bedtime routine
A healthy routine should make your child relaxed to fall asleep quickly. A bedtime routine may involve setting bed- and wake-up times, avoiding electronics for about 20 minutes before sleep, eliminating sources of light or noise, and eating the right amount before sleeping.
If your child overeats or is feeling hungry, the child will be uncomfortable sleeping or have difficulty falling asleep due to heightened alertness.
- Healthy daytime activities
Encourage your kid to participate in daytime activities that can positively affect sleep. For instance, the right level of exercise can help prepare your child’s body to demand more rest at night.
Contact Sonoran Sleep Center today for diagnosis and specialist treatment of pediatric sleep disorders.
