Sleep needs vary depending on age. On average, newborns sleep about 16-18 hours, infants about 14 hours a day. Children up to 2 years old need 13-14 hours, and a three-year-old needs 2-3 hours less. Children from 8 to 10 years old need 10 hours of sleep, and adolescents about 8-9 hours.
However, it should be noted that sleep needs are individual and may differ slightly from the averages mentioned above.
The Role of "Good" Sleep
Sleep is essential for our health – not only physical but also mental. Calm, deep, and long sleep allows us to maintain well-being, proper functioning of the nervous and circulatory systems, a healthy body weight and hormonal balance, and strengthens the immune system. Good sleep improves cognitive abilities such as memory and concentration, strengthens immunity, and increases resistance to stress and anxiety. Sleep also helps to regain lost energy and reduce fatigue.
Factors that Help You Fall Asleep Easier:
- Increasing physical and mental activity;
- Avoiding long naps during the day;
- Maintaining a sleep schedule;
- Eating no later than 1-2 hours before bedtime;
- Avoiding heavy meals before bed;
- Avoiding drinking a lot of fluids before bed;
- Ensuring silence, peace, and darkness in the bedroom;
- Avoiding emotional conversations before falling asleep;
- Ventilating the room before bed, humidifying the air when it is dry.
The Role of Sleep in Child Development
Why Does a Child Sleep Poorly?
When a child doesn't want to/can't fall asleep, parents look for reasons why this is happening.
For preschool children, the most common cause of falling asleep and insufficient sleep problems is going to bed too late. Insomnia is also often caused by experienced anxiety, for example, after changing residence, anxiety experienced during the day, and even after learning to fall asleep independently, anxiety is caused by the fear of being alone in a separate room. Sleep disorders in young children cause irritability, excessive emotionality, and stormy, impulsive behavior. Eventually, it becomes difficult for the child to concentrate, and sometimes this becomes the reason why children, exhausted from lack of sleep, avoid communication and social contact, become withdrawn and unhappy. Lack of sleep can also increase the appetite for sweets and other food products.
Sleep Problems in Older Children and Adolescents
Insomnia in older children and adolescents is most often caused by stress, for example, due to learning difficulties, family problems, and interpersonal relationships. Lack of sleep causes emotional disorders, neuroses, behavioral disorders, and physical exhaustion. However, difficulties in concentrating, learning, and often changing moods may arise initially. Lack of sleep also has a physical effect, which is manifested by a tired facial expression, dark circles under the eyes, and a pale skin tone.
Anxiety-provoking sleep disorder symptoms should not be ignored in any of the above cases. Insomnia at an early age can lead to serious disorders such as migraines, depression, anxiety, and neurosis. It also interferes with normal daily functioning and learning at school, which can affect further educational paths. Therefore, a caring parent should check the child's sleeping conditions and ensure its smoothness in time.
A weighted blanket is a therapeutic tool recommended by kinesiotherapists and child development specialists. Such a blanket can help a child who has difficulty falling asleep.
