Sleep is important for the physical and psychological development of infants and children. Until the age of two, the average sleep time is fourteen hours, while after the age of two until the age of five, the average duration is between eleven and thirteen hours. School-age children need at least 10-11 hours of sleep. Sleep disorders in infants occur as difficulty in falling asleep, inability to maintain sleep, falling asleep during the day or continuous sleepiness.
Sleep disturbance in infants is a common condition. It accounts for a significant proportion of specialist referrals at this time. Because of the fear of a possible underlying disorder, primary sleep disturbance causes more anxiety and stress in the family than is usually expected.
Children's need for sleep and the timing of sleep vary according to their growth stage. For adequate growth and development, children need to get regular sleep at night.
What are the Causes of Sleep Disorders?
Among the causes of insomnia in children ; asthma, reflux, autism, late feeding, malnutrition, teething, sleep apnea, hyperactivity disorder, obesity, family problems.
Althoughsleep problems occur in various ways depending on the time, they are usually seen in the first 2 years, sleep is interrupted due to reasons such as pain, irregular feeding in the period up to the 5th month; then there are problems in falling asleep intensively and maintaining sleep.
Children with these and similar sleep problems may have an important cause or underlying disease. Particular attention should be paid to interrupted sleep or pain that interferes with sleep. In such cases, parents should follow up their children and definitely get support from a specialist.
What should be done for sleep hygiene in infants?
There are two important approaches in the treatment of infant sleep problems. As long as possible, the baby should be soothed and fall asleep with the effort of the parents and avoid physical contact when crying in case of reawakening. In addition, routines at bedtime and massage are also techniques for correcting sleep problems. We can list the things to be done for sleep hygiene in babies as follows;
- Specific bedtime and bedtime routines
- The baby should not sleep on an empty stomach
- Continued consumption of caffeine-containing products by breastfeeding mothers
- Smoking should not be used
- Setting the bedroom to be quiet and dark
- Proper temperature in the bedroom
- Technological devices such as television and computer should not be kept in the bedroom
- Give the baby a warm bath
- Read a book or a story
- Sing a lullaby to help him fall asleep
- Light music should be played
- The habit of sleeping on the breast should not be introduced
Babies' sleep time should be organized according to the biological clock time. Putting the baby to bed at a later time does not mean that the baby will have more sleep time, and if the baby is tired because of this, the sleep pattern will be disrupted, it will have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and after a while chronic insomnia will develop. Therefore, the symptoms of the baby's fatigue should be well observed. It is very important that the baby is tired only when this fatigue does not intensify.