[Lifestyle] How to help children sleep better: not only routines are important

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Habits before going to bed are not the only thing that helps to have quality rest, parents should also pay attention to physical exercise, meals or if their children snore.

Sleep is essential for a child's mental growth, especially in early childhood. Last March, the American Academy for Sleep Medicine Foundation recalled that, along with nutrition and exercise, quality sleep is one of the three pillars of a healthy life. As rest is especially relevant for the correct development and growth of a minor, parents or caregivers must be very clear about the hours of sleep that their children need at each moment and age of their development. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 25% to 50% of children and 40% of adolescents have sleep problems.

“The most important thing is to keep in mind how much rest minors need. Children between 3 and 5 years old should sleep between nine and eleven hours, including a nap of between an hour and an hour and a half,” explains Dr. Óscar Sans, coordinator of the Pediatrics working group of the Spanish Sleep Society (SES). ). This data coincides with what the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends: according to this world-renowned association, for children aged 1 to 2 years it is recommended between 11 and 14 hours of sleep per day, and for preschool children aged 3 to 5 years. , between 10 and 13 hours a day.
“Once the sleep requirements are met, another very significant piece of information is to identify whether or not there is snoring to be clear about whether the sleep is quality,” continues Sans, “there are children who snore, but there is no apnea, and others who do not snore, but do have this disorder.” For this doctor, knowing this is crucial to ensure that the little one gets enough sleep and sleeps well. “Snoring should not only be associated with adults or older people, but minors can also do it, either due to having large tonsils or adenoids, and it should not be confused with heavy breathing,” he clarifies. If a child has apnea, according to Sans, he will suffer from micro-awakenings at night, a pathology in which breathing is interrupted for a few seconds and disrupts quality rest: “Micro-awakenings at night, in the medium term, cause the brain not to rest.” at all, and if this happens five or six times, the sleep is not of good quality,” he adds.

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national public health agency of the United States, they explain that adequate sleep is essential to prevent diabetes or obesity, among other diseases, and they place special emphasis on the prevention of problems associated with mental health: mood, behavior, attention, resilience, learning or memory problems. "It cannot be said that if a child under 3 or 5 years of age has sleep problems, they will have mental health problems at an older age, but it is associated with poorer academic performance, being more irritated, or their ability to be affected." cardiovascular system,” details Sans. A report published in 2024 by the Department of Health at the University of Florida (USA), titled Why quality sleep is key to children's health, adds that lack of sleep also negatively affects brain development. . “At an early age, if irritability or behavioral problems are observed, it may be confused with other disorders such as ADHD, for example, when the real origin is lack of sleep,” says Sans.

The role of parents in sleep quality
Parents are key to helping their children develop healthy sleep habits. “It is convenient for parents to learn and teach their children simple relaxation techniques, and both understand the impact of this on their own health,” says Marta Carrascal, clinical psychologist and Gestalt therapist. This expert explains how the most important thing is to establish routines—eat dinner early and little, pajamas, same time to go to bed—and also advises reading them a story or playing music with monotonous sounds like rain or ocean waves: “ “It improves the environment.” “To ensure that little ones sleep better, it is crucial to establish a calm and consistent routine before going to bed, which provides them with a feeling of security and predictability,” she says.

Sans, for his part, warns that it is not only essential to implement daily sleep routines, but that we must also take into account other important aspects that affect rest, such as meals or physical exercise: “It's not just about going to bed. to the child at the same time, but it is also important to have healthy eating habits and control physical exercise, ideally at the same time." The doctor highlights the idea that physical activity is very important, but with nuances regarding when to practice it: “The ideal is to do some activities during the day, and reduce the practice to avoid excitement at least two hours before going to work.” bed". This sleep specialist also places special emphasis on meals: “The ideal is to eat everything and keep regular schedules.” And he points out: “You should not eat heavy meals at night and you should choose a dinner time that is not too close to bedtime, at least an hour should pass before going to bed. The intestine is considered the second brain, and it has great regulation over the central clock, the later we eat dinner, the later we will sleep, and this lack of time regulation does not help the brain to regulate itself as well,” she clarifies.

Finally, Sans highlights co-sleeping as another essential aspect to take into account. “If it is reactive co-sleeping, that is, when the parents sleep next to the child because they suffer from nocturnal awakenings and it is easier and faster to calm the child down and return to sleep, sleep tests should be performed,” he clarifies. And he emphasizes that once the tests are done and if the results are normal, “there is no problem in co-sleeping.”

News brought by: https://elpais.com/mamas-papas/2024-05-29/como-ayudar-a-los-ninos-a-dormir-mejor-no-solo-son-importantes-las-rutinas.html