All About Sleep (continued)

Lack of sleep for kids can cause irritable or hyper types of behavior and can also make a condition like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) worse.

Teens

Adolescents need about 8 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night, but many don't get it. And as they progress through puberty, teens actually need more sleep. Because teens often have schedules packed with school and activities, they're typically chronically sleep deprived (or lacking in a healthy amount of sleep).

And sleep deprivation adds up over time, so an hour less per night is like a full night without sleep by the end of the week. Among other things, sleep deprivation can lead to:

• decreased attentiveness
• decreased short-term memory
• inconsistent performance
• delayed response time

These can cause generally bad tempers, problems in school, stimulant use, and driving accidents (more than half of "asleep-at-the-wheel" car accidents are caused by teens).

Adolescents also experience a change in their sleep patterns — their bodies want to stay up late and wake up later, which often leads to them trying to catch up on sleep during the weekend. This sleep schedule irregularity can actually aggravate the problems and make getting to sleep at a reasonable hour during the week even harder.

Ideally, a teenager should try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, allowing for at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep.

Establishing a Bedtime Routine

Here's a summary of a few ways that may help your child ease into a good night's sleep:

• Include a winding-down period in the routine.
• Stick to a bedtime, alerting your child both half an hour and 10 minutes beforehand.
• Allow your child to choose which pajamas to wear, stuffed animal to take to bed, etc.
• Consider playing soft, soothing music.
• Don't give your baby or toddler a bottle (of breast milk, formula, or any sugar-containing drink) to aid sleep. This can cause a serious dental problem called "baby bottle tooth decay" because the fluids tend to pool in the child's mouth.
• Tuck your child into bed snugly for a feeling of security.
• Encourage your older kid or teen to set and maintain a bedtime that allows for the full hours of sleep needed at this age.

There isn't one sure way to raise a good sleeper, but every parent should be encouraged to know that most kids have the ability to sleep well. The key is to try, from early on, to establish healthy sleep habits.

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: November 2007