Children's Health: Sleeping Soundly :: Health and Disease

> Health and Disease > Sleep Disturbances

Children's Health: Sleeping Soundly
by author Cathy Carlson-Rink, BSc, RM, ND

Are you feeling frustrated with your efforts to settle your children at night? Is your child waking more frequently? Sleeping difficulties in children are one of the most common concerns raised by parents. In a study of 1,000 school age children-43 per cent of children had some type of sleep difficulty.

It is important to understand normal sleep patterns for children. With an infant, sleep patterns are not set by night and day but on empty and full stomachs. At first, because the stomachs are so small (about the size of a walnut), it is unrealistic to expect them to sleep more than two or three hours. Infants have periods of lighter sleep before deep sleep so they need help to learn to relax into sleep. Babies and toddlers have shorter cycles of light and deep sleep so it is not uncommon for them to wake at night. Children often have separation anxiety when they wake and often have difficulty sorting out dreams and reality. Night terrors are also common from ages three to eight. I have found massage, soft touch, and a gentle reassuring voice helpful in getting children back to sleep.

Poor sleep can also be the result of mental, emotional, or physical problems.

Nutritional Issues

Nighttime glucose
Low blood sugar can cause night waking. Adrenaline and cortisol are released to bring the blood sugar level back up. These hormones, also part of the stress response, are very stimulating to the body, resulting in increased waking. My recommendation is eat colourful foods; white is not a colour, so white sugar and flour must be significantly reduced.

Food and environmental allergies
Food allergies can lead to symptoms such as bedwetting, eczema, itchiness, asthma, and digestive complaints all affecting quality of sleep. Those with a cow’s milk allergy show a dramatic improvement in sleep when milk is eliminated from their diet. Food and environmental allergies can also lead to enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which are the most common cause of sleep problems. Symptoms include snoring, restless sleep, and frequent waking.

Nutritional deficiencies
Calcium and magnesium deficiencies have shown to increase night waking. Tryptophan, an amino acid, is a precursor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin induces sleep. B6 and magnesium are needed to promote this conversion. Magnesium also helps muscles relax. In addition to increasing calcium, magnesium, and B vitamins in the diet, I recommend a liquid calcium/magnesium preparation at bedtime.

Caffeine
Soft drinks and chocolate are high in caffeine. The stimulant effects of caffeine can keep both adults and children awake.

Other Medical Issues

Acute infections such as ear infections, fever, cold, and flu often disrupt sleep. If your child is usually a good sleeper, look for signs of illness.

Emotional Issues

Nightmares are common when there has been an increase in stress during the daytime. Scary movies and nighttime news have also been linked to sleep difficulties. Night waking in an older child can also be caused by fear of sleeping alone, family upsets, and conflicts with peers or siblings. Bach Flower Rescue Remedy is good for calming frightened children. Sleep disturbances are more common in children with behavioural problems. Sleep problems can also be a sign of depression and anxiety.

There are many gentle and wonderful natural treatments for children to re-establish good sleep when it has been disrupted. Nervines help rebuild and restore the nervous system after long-term stress. They soothe and relax the nervous system without sedation. Examples of these herbs are catnip, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, linden flowers, oats, and passionflower. Lemon balm and chamomile also soothe the digestive tract so I often recommend these when tummy aches are part of the symptom picture. A few drops of the essential oils of these herbs can be added to a warm bath, or used for a back massage. The whole herbs can be ingested as a tea or fill a ‘dream pillow’ with one-half cup each of rosebuds, lavender, and linden flowers. Place the pillow close to the child’s head.

Healthy sleep for children involves teaching them it is a pleasant state by working through their fears. Be flexible and respond to the needs of your child to come up with relevant solutions.

Helpful Suggestions for a Good Night Sleep

Avoid wind-up activities

Avoid stimulating activities such as television, video games.
Discuss family disagreements during the day, so evening emotions due to fatigue don’t escalate.
Avoid stimulating foods, such as white sugar and caffeine.

Provide wind-down activities

A bedtime routine which includes a regular bedtime, brushing teeth, pajamas, quiet stories, and relaxing music.
Vigorous exercise during the day improves the quality of sleep.
Make going to bed a positive time by listing all the great activities awaiting them when they awake and hugs and “I love you’s”.
Favorite blanket or stuffed animal to comfort them.
Back massage with lavender or chamomile essential oil (10 drops) added to one ounce of almond oil.

Cathy Carlson-Rink, BSc, RM, ND, is a licensed Naturopathic Physician and Registered Midwife practicing at the Family Health Clinic in Langley, BC with a focus on women and childrenâ€™s health and pregnancy. She is an instructor of Obstetrics and Pediatrics at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine.

Source: alive #254, December 2003

Sleeping Well Naturally
Nothing is more effective than a good night's sleep to restore body and soul. The trouble for many is that sound, uninterrupted sleep remains an elusive dream.

Sleep Matters
If you don't snooze, you lose. The alarm buzzes. A hand emerges from a heap of blankets to slap blindly at the sound-again and again. Finally, you rouse yourself to squint at the dial. With a groan, you realize you've slept in for the second time this week. What's worse, you're still tired.

Fit Kids
A healthy child becomes a healthy adult. As parents we must steer our children away from the dangers of inactivity and keep them fit by leading them into a more active lifestyle.

Forever Young
All of us want to have longer and healthier lives, and while some of us are dealt a better hand than others in life's genetic lottery, there are many ways we can maximize the potential we are born with.

Sleep Revived
For millions of sleep-deprived Canadians, a restful eight hours of shut-eye has become a rare luxury. Sleep is the ultimate rejuvenation elixi.

PBDEs
Many of us are familiar with DDT and thinning eggshells, and we may have heard about the dangers of PCBs. But most of us are unaware that another group of ubiquitous and toxic chemicals is in our midst.

The Joy of Slumber
Do you think that sleep is a ho-hum activity? Do you squeak by on four hours of nightly rest, bouncing through your day wired on grandé Americanos? You're certainly not alone, but you're probably not functioning at your best, either.

Assessing Sleep Problems
Before you worry too much about the quality or quantity of your sleep, determine if you really have a problem! If you feel refreshed when you wake up, you have probably had enough sleep. Not everyone requires eight hours sleep. Some people require more.

What's Eating Our Kids?
Common sense tells us that what's eating our kids is what they're eating. If they eat junk food, they will have junk bodies and junk feelings. An overburdened liver must struggle to detoxify the synthetic ingredients in processed food; a malnourished brain is more susceptible to the neurotoxic effect of "excitotoxins (MSG and aspartame) that lead to emotional and neurological imbalance.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
In our fast-paced world, sleep has become a hot commodity. The number of adults who do not achieve seven hours of sleep per night has more than doubled since 1960. The cost of insomnia in North America, via lost productivity and accidents, is estimated to be over $100 billion per year.

enviroment

Need three more reasons to go to alive.com ("Lobbying Letters") and print out your letter opposing the commercialization of genetically engineered wheat in Canada? 1.

Start young for better health

Encouragement goes a long way

Genius at Work?
Creating a functional study area in children's bedrooms won't guarantee them a future Nobel Prize, but it should make homework less of a chore. Good design is easy to achieve, and inexpensive, too.

Growing Up Green
For many earth-aware parents, the birth of a child sparks the shift from green thinking to eco-action. Perhaps having a baby puts a face to the future generations affected by our environmental choices, or maybe concerns for our children's health simply lead to a greener way of thinking.

Sleepless in Seattle...or Anywhere Else?
Are you chronically tired? Are you having trouble getting through the day? The problem may be that you're sleep-deprived.

Antidepressants Linked to Sleep Disorders
We know that antidepressants can lift a person's mood, but some can also increase sleep disorders. Recent research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that people taking antidepressants may be affected by a sleep disorder that causes them to act out unpleasant and sometimes violent dreams.

Pillow Talk
Tired of waking up stiff and stuffy? Take a closer look at your pillow. If your nightly repose is disturbed by dust mites, synthetic allergens, or neck and back pain, a natural pillow may help in your quest for tranquil rest.

Summertime Travel Kits
Summer holidays are finally here again! Whether you're planning to lounge on the decks of an Alaskan cruise ship or hike the West Coast trail, you're going to need a basic travel kit.

School Lunch Solutions
We all want healthy meals for our children. But in a busy world, achieving this is sometimes easier said than done, and so we look for simple food solutions for kids' lunches.