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Oct 8, 2021

My Kid don’t sleep.. Is he insomniac?

“My son is getting irritable day by day. He is also gaining weight and lacks attentiveness in school. He has become short tampered and very aggressive. I am extremely worried, he was a calm child earlier but now he is agitated and violent all the time. Can you help me”? A desperate mother puts a call at Nidanam Homeopathy clinic.

“Parents these days are facing such issues and are unable to find a solution for it. Many feel that their child have gone abnormal or some even say that they might be possessed by some entity. Being a mother myself, I could feel the level of desperation and emotional trauma they go through. In most of such cases, the basic cause of the problem is very simple, lack of sleep or disturbed sleeping pattern.” says Dr. Bhavana Jain Agarwal, MD (Nidanam Homeopathy)

Sleep is considers as one of the vital aspects of life. It not only helps in providing serenity but also promotes growth activity of body as well as mind. It can be regarding as a building block of a child’s mental as well as physical health.

According to a recent study, about 25 to 50 percent of toddlers and 40 percent of adolescents have sleeping issue. Hence it is a common problem these days.  

Why sleep is considered important in children?

It is scientifically proved that sleep plays a fundamental role in development of child’s brain. Studies have indicated that sleep contributes to various mental aspects and emotions that are mentioned
below.

1. Happiness/Sadness
2. Alertness/Attentiveness
3. Memory and concentration
4. Attention and reactions
5. Cognitive performance
6. Moods
7. Resiliency
8. Vocabulary
9. Learning skills

What happens when child is unable get ample sleep?

Due to increase in awareness towards mental health especially in children, most of the parents these days pay attention to their child’s psychological condition. Conditions caused due to lack of sleep may mimic ADHD i.e. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sleeplessness may also contribute to lack of concentration and many other mental as well physical developmental aspect of a child.

As per a report by American Academy of Paediatrics, about 25 percent of children below the age of five have disturbed sleep. This has been directly linked to an allergic condition called allergic rhinitis. Their reports also suggest that this lack of sleep may further be linked to conditions of cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and obesity.

In adolescents, chronic disturbed sleep may directly or indirectly affect child academically and may also cause mental health issues and behaviour disorders.

What can be done to improve child’s sleep?

Dr. Bhavana from Nidanam Homeopathy, very often gets cases where kids faces such problems. She recommends certain tips that may prove handy in improving sleep of the child.

Sleep requirements changes with time. Sleeping pattern of a 2 year
old toddler is different as compared to a 13 year of teenager.

1. Improving Bed time routine

First and the foremost thing is to improve the bed time routine of
the child. This has been a one of the most successful methods to improve
sleep.  

A typical bed time routine might include

1. Switching of computers, televisions, video games and other light emitting gadgets.
2. Wearing easy outfits like loose pyjama and night suits.
3. Brushing teeth
4. Reading a story book, singing a lullaby or taking a bath with comfortably warm water.
5. A stuffed toy by the side of a toddle is also a great idea as it makes him feel more secured.

The right time to take your child to bed is when he is sleepy and not after he has slept. This method facilitates a child of developing a habit to sleep by his own. Child should also be taught to be sleep on his own bed rather than sleeping with parents or others bed.

1. Sleep hygiene

This is also an important aspect that is helpful in inducing a good sleep.

1. Design a balanced day schedule for the kid considering his playing and restful time.
2. Schedule a regular and fixed bed time.
3. Bed should be a non-screen zone throughout and any gadget emitting light should not be allowed even during day time.
4. A well balanced diet should be administered.
5. Provide a comfortable and cool environment.
6. Cover windows properly to make the room dark and comfortable for sleep.
7. Try to cover up all the noises from outside to make that place noise free zone.
8. Heavy food stuff, high sugars during bed time should be avoided.

It’s important that a child has a good physical exercise routine but avoid him being over exhaustion should be avoided. Overly tired body is also not good for sleep. Hence it is important to keep a watch on your child’s physical activities while setting his bed time routines.

Sleeping tips for Very Young Babies

Very young babies, as they still have to develop their circadian rhythm, may find it difficult to sleep whole night. If they don’t fall back sleep, it’s natural. Just provide them with a cosier environment and they will be ok with it. They may also cry of hunger or need for a change of a diaper. Just quietly do it and let them fall sleep again to the earliest.

Sleeping tips for toddlers

Toddlers generally require two naps a day. As they are grown up enough to understand miss and fear emotions, they should be dealt different than babies. Their mind can be preoccupied by giving them authorities like their choice of night suit or pyjama, which book to read at bed time etc. Parents should be firm yet loving as kids at this age understands the emotions and responds to them likewise.

Sleeping tips for school going kids

School kids have a busier routine as compared to their previous stages. This may cause difficulty in falling asleep. Try to monitor a steady routine and relaxing periods before bedtime.

It is important to setup a morning routine as well. No doubt it’s always pleasurable to sleep late in mornings but it may also contribute in disturbing the sleeping pattern, thereby try to follow a routine through out to evolve that as a habit.

There are other issues as well that might seems to be insignificant but may contribute immensely in altering sleeping pattern in children. Events like teething, illness, change in place or bed, a new care taker,some minor ailments like cough, colds, ear ache etc. may also contribute to it.

Other Factors are:

1. Night mares and night terrors – young kids and toddlers are often seen to be frightened with some thoughts sketched out of their imagination. Occasionally, a bad dream may wake them up causing disrupted sleep. If such instances happen, calm him down and try to put him back to sleep. Counselling is very important for a kid so as to overcome his wild imaginations. Must council your child about the event that happened last night, the next morning and try to resolve and dissolve the undesired from his mind.
2. Sleep walk and talk – sleep talk is rather one of the most common parasomnia presentation. Sleep talk is generally experienced in light sleep rather in deep. It is advisable therefore that kids have a deep
   sleep to overcome sleep talk. Though not common but yet not that uncommon phenomenon is a sleep walk. Similar to sleep talkers, sleep walkers are also unaware of their problem. They don’t remember anything about their sleep walk/talk episode the moment they wake up. This event cannot be ignored and should be taken care of seriously, it is advised to take a help of a medical professional.
3. Restless leg syndrome – Again it is a common problem that may cause sleeping issues in children. It may also be mistaken with growing pains.It is important to provide proper nourished diet to your child as well as make him do stretching exercises especially bed time. Including iron supplements in his diet may also prove helpful in overcoming this problem.

There are few other factors that may also contribute in disturbing the sleep of your child.

If you still find that in spite following above mentioned measure, the child is not able to sleep properly, Dr. Bhavana can be a great help with her customized homeopathic treatments.