health care information

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding healthy sleep habits. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about healthy sleep habits to children. Healthy sleep habits for children are as significant as they are a necessary for health, proper growth and well-being. Children, who get sufficient amount sleep every night function better throughout the day, are more alert, and their concentration, performance and memory are better than those who don’t sleep well. As well children with sleep problems are less likely to develop behavioral problems of any kind, moodiness, anxiety or depression. The needs of sleep differ from child to child but school age children in general require in the area of nine to twelve hours of sleep per night. Consider these things if you are unsure whether or not your child is getting enough sleep every night. • If he/she wakes up easily in the morning that is a good sign • If he/she is wide awake, energetic and alert throughout the school day then the nighttime sleep is sufficient. • If a child can fall asleep within a period of fifteen minutes to a half an hour than he or she is getting enough sleep It is significant to explain to your child why getting enough sleep every night is significant, not only in terms of his/her health but also for performance in school and other activities such as sports, music, playtime, etc. Bedtime Routines Above all else developing and following a routine before bedtime is the number one tip to encourage good sleep habits in your child is to. A routine is good for children because children like predictability and a bedtime routine makes it easier for a kid to calm down after their busy day, crawl into bed and drift off to sleep. A typical bedtime routine for a child should look something like this- a light snack, a relaxing bath, dry off and put on pajamas, wash face and brush teeth, read a bedtime story and then it’s good night and lights out. Same Bedtime Stick to the same bedtime every night. An occasional change in the bedtime routine, such as when grandparents visit or during a holiday weekend is one thing, but for the most part, a consistent routine is best. Children’s Bedroom Always make sure that a child’s room is at a comfortable temperature and that it is peaceful and quiet. Also many children do not want to be left in the total darkness while they sleep so getting a nightlight is a worthwhile purchase to make. Stress Stress can cause sleepless nights for children so always encourage your son or daughter to talk with you about any concerns or worries he or she is having, whether they be family problems, school related problems and so on. You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about healthy sleep habits for your children. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days. Cut-off Time for Entertainment It is an excellent idea to devise a specific cut-off time for entertainment for your child, in terms of television, video games, and the computer and so on. It is not a good idea to have a television or a computer in a child’s bedroom, as they can be easily distracted or tempted to play after they are told, “Enough for today.” It is an even better idea to cease television, computer or videos an hour before bedtime in order to make the preparation for sleep a calm and relaxing experience. A child does not need anything stimulating before bedtime. Sleep Disorders for Children Children can suffer from sleep disorders just like people of any age can. Sleep apnea, insomnia, enuresis (bed wetting), bruxism (teeth grinding), asthma that is nocturnal in nature and nightmares can all occur in children. You make a visit to the doctor to decide upon a course of action, the better, if your child is having problems with sleep the sooner. Educate Your Child about Sleep Try to make the whole sleep experience as positive and uplifting as can be. Encourage your child to learn how to fall asleep on his/her own and not to need to rely on you. Research has proven that a child sleeping in a parent’s bed runs a risk of them suffocating or being strangled and also fosters dependence to an unhealthy extent. None of these things are as likely to happen when the child is alone in their own bed. It is the kid who can be alone and fall asleep by him/herself who learns better how to cope with moments when he or she is awakened during the night. The only time that you might want to stay with your child until they fall asleep is if they are sick or extremely fearful. Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

During infancy
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The sleep patterns of an infant varies with each child. The first three or four weeks, outside the womb, your infant will have intervals of long times of sleep and short. Your infant hasn’t made the distiction between night and day so he or she will wake in the night just the same as the day; only to wake to nurse and take care of hunger pains.
As your infant grows, you will notice, he or she will sleep less and stay awake longer. The periods of sleep will increase in length. Your child will be learning the difference between night and day as well.
This tendency to rest during his or her early days of life must not be disrupted; however, as your infant grows it is important to develope the practice of regular sleep schedules. Thus, encouraging good sleep habits during the night. In the young years, your child should nap for about two hours, give or take, during the day to regenerate their system. If the nap is taken later than dinner it could result in a bad nights sleep.
Do to your infants size, he or she will have a difficult time generating and amintaining his or her own body heat. Sometimes it is recommended the infant sleep with the parents. However, if your infant experiences disturbed and restless nights it is best to have him or her sleep in their own bed. Sometimes placed in the care of a nanny or relative staying with you, to be brought to you to nurse.
Taking these steps will help your infant get a good nights sleep, also this will ensure you get enough rest to preserve your health. In which case, if you lack in sleep, you could suffer from deragement, stress and tension, concluding your infant could also suffer from the affect such unstable health would put upon your milk.
At the age of one month to six weeks your child, if healthy, can sleep in a cradle or cot. Take care to dress your infant according to the temerature. The room should be around 60 degrees, position to cradle or cot so it is not exposed to cold currents of air. Sufficent blankets should be used to help maintain your babies body temperature. Until your child has developed the ability to produce and maintain his or her beat.
During sleep the the body slows, therefore he or she can become more susceptible to colds and viruses that can be injurious to your child. It is common for infants to develope inflammation of inner organs when exposed to drastic temperature changes. Not always will the true cause be connected to the illness.
However, great care should be taken. First, not to cover your infant with too many clostes or blankets that can inevitabily crowd your infants face. Your object is to provide your infant with plenty of warm pure air with nothing, such as blankets, to block access to your infants nose and mouth. Your goal is to provide the best atmosphere, of the whole room, should be kept warm and allow for free breathing. Taking extra care in the winter for good temperature control.
Some recommend your infant sleep on a feather bed until he or she is two years old. At the six month tombstone the pillow should be changed to horsehair. This is the time he or she begins teething and it is recommended to keep your infants head cool due to fever from teething.
During childhood
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At age three or four, your child should be encouraged to rest for about an hour beforedinner, after this period you can slowly discontinue the rest period. Keep in mind, that from infancy, all throughout childhood your child needs more sleep then at the adult age. Keeping your child on a regular sleep schedule, will ensure basically healthy life style.
There is no defined rule as to the specific number of hours is required; each child requires a different amount of sleep. The regularity of the rest period is the chief point to tend to, permitting nothing to interfere and when your child recieves this undisturbed sleep, waking in the morning on his or her own accord, will he or she get sufficient rest.
What state of health your child’s body is in, determines the amount of sleep required to preserve, heal and care for their body. Infants will pass a larger part of their day sleeping. Infants and young children will spend twelve to fourteen hours sleeping in a day, this includes naps and all night. Schoolage children can average about ten hours, as a youth will average a third of twenty four hours sleephing. As we age we require as little as four hours and as many as six sleeping, sometimes a little more.
A selfish and cruel act on a mother or father’s part is to indulge in her or his pleasures at the risk of the child’s health. Surprisingly, this happens often in relation to the sleep habits of children. For example; if there is an evening party, some parents will choose to keep their child up long after their bedtime so the parents can show him or her off. With this kind of excitement and disrupted sleep, the child will be extremely tired the next day.
Once your child awakes for the morning, he or she shouldn’t be permitted to linger in bed. this is the good habit of rising early to enjoy the day, and stopping the many serious issues which could effect their health. This also promotes good mental and physical health, and encouraging good habits of sleep will be most productive to longevity.
You should refrain from waking your child, except for in an emergency, do to the effects caused. The brain gets excited, the heart begins to quicken; if disturbed sleep continues, serious consequences could occur. The course of sleep and wake should be gradual.
There are two styles of beddings to consider; feather beds and mattress supporting bedding. Some experts feel it is best for infants to sleep on feather beds; however, as they grow move your child to a mattress. The reason being as the infant will benefit from the feathers providing the warmth he or she cannot generate yet. The young child will generate too much heat and will cause a dchain reaction and weaken his or her system causing hour child to be more susceptible to colds and viruses.
A good practice to incorporate is to change your habit to making the bed as soon as you climb out of it. Instead, while bedding is still saturated withsweat and dead skin cells; remove the bed covers, hanging them over chair backs. Shake the mattress if possible and open windows breifly to allow fresh air into the room and proper ventilation.
It is also a good practice not to allow your child to sleep with someone in ill health or with someone advanced in years. If, and when, it is possible your chld should occupy his or her own sleep space. Always remember to keep your child’s health and well-being first.

It is not a secret that too little sleep makes us feel “out of sorts” and can account for poor performance at work or school. Many people become irritable and forgetful if they have only had a short amount of sleep the night before. Believe it or not you are not able to make up for lost sleeping hours tonight with more sleep tomorrow. This is especially true for children. They need the right amount of sleep every night if they are going to be functioning at their best.

Often parents forget the importance of sleep for kids, and it is easy to begin thinking that if a couple of hours of sleep are missed here and there it can not possibly matter. The fact of the matter is that it does matter, and it makes a big difference in the development of each child.

When children are sleeping their bodies are going through a process of repair, renewal and growth. This is true for the brain as well. These hours of slumber and rest allow the brain to process the billions of bytes of information it has received during the day. When there is less sleep than needed all of these different developmental processes can not take place in an efficient manner. Not only does it hinder all children, too little sleep can make certain conditions such as autism or ADD even more problematic.

Children and adults all have individual requirements for the amount of sleep that they need to perform at their best. However there are some guidelines concerning the amount of sleeping hours that children need according to their age. This is a helpful chart that parents can refer to if they want to see how their child’s sleeping habits are measuring up to what the professionals recommend.

0-18 months

From the first day, until the age of 18 months children are spending more hours resting and sleeping than they are doing anything else. This amount of sleep is necessary because their minds and bodies are growing quickly and these processes demand an enormous amount of energy. On the average children in this age group will be sleeping about 16-18 hours a day at the beginning. As these tiny tots begin to grow you will notice a slight tapering of the sleep cycles over time; by the age of 18 months most will be sleeping for about 13-14 hours a day.

18 months to 4 years

During this time children are becoming very active when they are awake and most will benefit from a mid-day nap. However no child should be forced to actually go to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. Just let them have some quiet time instead of forcing the issue of a nap upon them. A total of 11.5-14 hours of sleep each day is quite sufficient for a child in this age group.

5-9 years

10-12 hours of sleep every day is recommended for kids aged 5-9 and this includes the naps that are taken during the day. A 10 hour cycle of sleep at night should be ideal and will help your child feel refreshed and happy the next day. Children who are 5-9 will be much happier if they can help choose their bedtime, and every night you should enforce the rule about when it is time to get ready for bed. Although there will be a few occasions when you might allow your children to stay up later than usual, this should be kept to a minimum.

10 – 13 years

8-10 hours of sleep should be sufficient for older children in this age group. If your child is getting the minimal amount of recommended sleep and does not seem to be performing as well as they could in school or at home then an extra hour of sleep might be in order.