The following is an excerpt from My Child Won’t Sleep, a book by Dr. Sujay Kansagra. He is the founder/inventor of Lullabee, the world’s first and only smart crib mattress.
No discussion about sleep should begin without first talking about the foundation for sleep—good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is a combination of our behaviors and the things around us that can help or hurt our sleep. There are four basic elements of good sleep hygiene.
Sleep Routine
Everyone should have a sleep routine—adults included. A sleep routine is a set of activities that are performed the same way and begin at the same time every night leading to bedtime. These activities should help your child wind down. For infants, the routine can include feeding your child, changing his or her diaper/clothes, reading him or her a story, etc. For older children, it can include taking a shower, brushing teeth, changing into pajamas, and reading. The goal is to have quiet activities that avoid too much light exposure and mental stimulation. A good routine should be about twenty to thirty minutes in length.
Appropriate Sleep Schedule
How many hours of sleep does a child need? How many naps should a child take? The answers vary from child to child and change as children grow. Here is a rough guideline based on age. The “Average Sleep Needed” column is based on total sleep in a twenty-four-hour time period (naps included).
|
Age |
Average Sleep Needed |
# of Naps |
|
0–3 Months |
12–18 hours |
3+ |
|
3–12 Months |
14–15 hours |
2-4 |
|
1–3 years |
12–14 hours |
1-2 |
|
3–5 years |
11–13 hours |
0-1 |
|
5–10 years |
10–12 hours |
None |
|
10–17 years |
8.5–10 hours |
None |
|
Adults |
7–9 hours |
None |
The take-away message is that the duration of normal sleep is a range, and every child is different. A minority of people do not fit even within the ranges provided above.
A Comfortable Environment
This is obvious, but the environment should be a comfortable temperature and free from excessive noise. Body temperature drops during sleep, and being too warm can inhibit the ability to fall asleep. Therefore, I typically recommend keeping the room on the slightly cooler side and dressing warmly instead of the opposite.
Avoidance and Treatment of Sleep Disruptors
One major sleep disruptor is caffeine. Even morning caffeine in the form of coffee, tea, soda, or chocolate can disrupt nighttime sleep. As a rule, I recommend that children not consume any substances with caffeine, regardless of whether or not there is a sleep issue.
Medical problems can also disrupt sleep, including nasal congestion from allergies, eczema, and gastroesophageal reflux (heartburn). These should be treated by your pediatrician.
Once you have the basic foundation of good sleep hygiene in place, you are ready to build from there.
Dr. Sujay Kansagra is an associate professor at Duke University at the Founder/Inventor of Lullabee, the world’s first and only smart crib mattress. As a double-boarded physician in both child neurology and sleep medicine, he serves as the Director of the Pediatric Neurology Sleep Medicine Program and specializes in children with intractable insomnia.