- How to create a sleep routine
- How to treat the main causes of sleep disorders in children
- 1. Snoring
- 2. Sleep Apnea
- 3. Night Terrors
- 4. Sleepwalking
- 5. Bruxism
- 6. nocturnal enuresis
Maintaining a calm and safe environment can help children sleep better.
However, sometimes children find it more difficult to sleep and often wake up at night due to problems such as snoring, fear of the dark or because they are sleepwalking. So, for not getting enough rest, the child may not like going to school, getting low marks in tests and exams and may be agitated and irritated, demanding more attention from parents and teachers.
Most of the time, it is enough to create a sleep routine for the child to fall asleep faster, but sometimes, when the child has difficulty sleeping or wakes up every night, it is necessary to inform the pediatrician because the causes need to be investigated.
How to create a sleep routine
This sleep routine should be followed every day so that the child gets used to it and can fall asleep faster and sleep better at night:
- Dinner, but without exaggeration to keep your tummy too full; Brush your teeth to prevent cavities; Put on comfortable pajamas, appropriate to the temperature of the room; Hear a children's story or a lullaby; Say goodbye to your parents night; turn off the light, leaving at most a soft night light in the room.
This routine should preferably be followed every day, including on holidays and weekends, and even when the child goes to sleep at the home of his uncles or grandparents.
Bedtime is also important and that is why it is good to set the right time and put the cell phone to wake up at that time, which is when the child must prepare to sleep.
If, even after following this routine for more than 1 month, the child is unable to fall asleep quickly or continue to wake up many times during the night, it is good to investigate whether he has any sleep disorder.
How to treat the main causes of sleep disorders in children
The treatment of the main causes of childhood insomnia, which leads to a decrease in the child's sleep quality, can be:
1. Snoring
When your child makes noise while sleeping, the pediatrician or otorhinolaryngologist will be able to guide the appropriate treatment, depending on the child's age and the cause of snoring, which may only include medication intake, weight loss or surgery to remove adenoids and tonsils, for example.
Snoring can be harmless when the child has the flu or has a stuffy nose, and in these cases, treatment to treat the flu or stuffy nose is sufficient.
Understand better why the child can snore in: Baby snoring is normal.
2. Sleep Apnea
When the child momentarily stops breathing while sleeping, breathes through the mouth and wakes up sweaty, this can be sleep apnea and, therefore, it is important to consult the pediatrician to guide the treatment that can be done with medication, surgery or the use of CPAP, which is a machine that provides a flow of compressed air through a nasal mask for the child to sleep better.
Sleep apnea, if left untreated, can impair the child's growth and development, hinder learning, cause daytime sleepiness or hyperactivity.
Find out how apnea treatment can be done at: Baby sleep apnea and nasal CPAP.
3. Night Terrors
When your child wakes up suddenly at night, scared, screaming or crying and with wide eyes, it can be night terrors. In these cases, parents should create a regular sleep regime and try to manage the child's stress, so that he is not anxious at bedtime. In some cases, consulting a psychologist can also help parents and children to deal with night terrors.
Night terrors can start after the age of 2 and usually disappear before the age of 8, not being harmful to the child, as he does not remember what happened the next day.
Know what to do in case of Night Terror.
4. Sleepwalking
When the child sits on the bed or gets up while sleeping, he or she may be sleepwalking, and this usually happens about an hour or two after the child falls asleep. In these cases, parents should create a sleep routine, protect the child's room to prevent them from getting hurt and avoid very agitated games before going to sleep, for example.
See other tips that can help reduce child sleepwalking episodes at: Child sleepwalking.
5. Bruxism
When your child grinds and clenches his teeth at night, called infantile bruxism, it is important to consult the pediatrician and the dentist, because depending on the cause, treatment may involve medication, teeth protectors or dentist bite plates or treatments dental.
In addition, it may also be necessary to consult a psychologist for the child to do relaxation techniques, and parents can also help to reduce the child's anxiety and stress by adopting some strategies, such as giving the child a hot bath before sleep or put a few drops of lavender essential oil on the pillow.
Find out other tips that can help you treat childhood bruxism at: How to treat childhood bruxism.
6. nocturnal enuresis
When the child pees in bed, he may have nocturnal enuresis or nocturnal urinary incontinence, which is the involuntary and repeated loss of urine during the night, usually from the age of 5 years. In these cases, it is important to consult the pediatrician to assess the child and prescribe medication, according to the cause of bedwetting.
A great solution is urinary alarms, which sound when the child starts to pee, encouraging him to go to the bathroom. In addition, physical therapy can help in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis and, therefore, it is also important to consult a physical therapist.
Better understand how the treatment of nocturnal enuresis is done in: Treatment for childhood urinary incontinence.
The lack of long-term quality sleep can impair not only the child's growth and learning, but also their relationship with parents and friends because, in most cases, they are more agitated and irritable children. Therefore, it is important to find out why the child sleeps poorly and seek help to adopt the appropriate treatment.
