Understanding the Importance of Sleep for Your Child’s Age

By Katherine Coates, Youthrive Occupational Therapist.

Sleep is an important part of our everyday life, yet often getting to and staying asleep can be a challenge that many children experience. There are lots of things you can to help improve your child’s night time routine and their sleep.

Why is sleep important?

Sleep is important for our health and well-being. Sleep allows our bodies to grow, boosts our immune system and allows our brain to process information, and store memories for future use. Just like our bodies need a good diet, fluid and exercise, sleep helps us rest, manage stress levels and cope with everyday tasks such as playing and learning. Sleep also improves focus, concentration, and overall mood and well-being.

Lack of or inadequate sleep can lead to:

difficulties focusing and attending.
difficulties regulating emotions
challenging behaviours
increased stress
low mood and or irritability

Sleep Stages

As children sleep, they cycle between different types of sleep:

Rapid Eye movement (REM) – dream sleep – occurs in the second half of the night. Children are more easily awoken in this sleep cycle.
Non-REM sleep – this is deep and light sleep and occurs in the first few hours after falling asleep.

These sleep cycles become longer as they grow older. These vary from 20 mins as babies to 60mins as toddlers. Some children can awaken after each sleep cycle and may experience difficulty getting back to sleep.

How many hours sleep?

The number of hours sleep we need, depends on a number of factors such as our age, medical conditions and individual’s needs and the environment. This can vary from person to person however, as a guide please see the information below.

0-3 months

Young babies have a varying sleep pattern: awake during the day and night and sleep for approx. 14-17 hours per day.

3 – 6 months

By this time babies are beginning to change their sleep pattern and may be awake for longer periods with a clearer night/day pattern. They may sleep 12-15 hour per day.

6-12months

Most babies at this age sleep 12-15hours per day with most of the sleep occurring at night with with 1-2 daytime naps. Babies often still awaken once per night and require an adult to settle back to sleep (Raising Children’s network).

Toddlers (1-3 years)

Generally, toddlers sleep approx. 11-14hours with 1 daytime nap of 1-2 hours. Night settling can become more difficult and occasional night wakening.

It can be common at this age for children to develop a sleep association e.g., with their dummy.

Pre-schoolers (3-5 years)

Require approx. 10-13hours per day. Some children still like to have a daytime nap of approx. an hour however many tend to drop the nap as they get closer to school age.

School Age (5-13 years)

Require approx. 9 – 11 hours’ sleep. No daytime nap required.

Common night time fears can begin to develop around this age e.g., fear of dark, monsters, being alone. It can be common at this stage that children can have difficulty falling to and staying asleep.

Adolescents (13 – 18 years)

Require approx. 8 – 10 hours sleep. At this stage, children begin to experience hormonal and body changes that can impact sleep routines. Teens can become more awake at night and sleep during the day. They may choose to go to bed later then get up in the morning later. This can result in erratic sleep patterns that may also be impacted by screen time use, caffeine and late-night activities.

Night time wakening:

This can happen from a variety of reasons from temperature, sleep associations, difficulties transitioning through sleep cycles and other reasons.
It can be helpful when your child is experiencing wakening to consider your routine and sleep practices and the developmental age and stage of the child.

How can we encourage positive sleep practice?

There are a number of ways to promote positive sleep practice with children to prevent an ongoing sleep disturbance.

Positive Sleep practices: ways to promote a good night’s sleep:

Establish a bedtime routine. This helps the child understand what to expect and helps, calm, unwind and prepare for sleep. A positive bedtime routine could include bath, brushing teeth, reading a book or quiet play such as completing a puzzle. For older kids, this could be shower, reading, organizing belongings, chatting with parents.
Set a regular bed and awake time: Aim to go to bed at the same time every day and get up at the same time every day (even on weekends). This helps the body prepare for sleeping to establish positive sleep/wake cycles.
Keep the hour before bed calm and relaxing with a focus on the 20mins before bed being the bedtime routine.
Limit and reduce screentime before bed. No technology 30 minutes before bed. Light from the technology can activate the brain and stops the production of melatonin which is important for sleep.
Avoid caffeine and large meals right before bed. Snacks are ok.
Consider the room’s temperature is it too hot/cold.
Consider the lighting: is it too bright/dark, are blackout curtains required or a night light? Opening the curtains in the mornings helps distinguish night/day (particularly important for teens).
Exercise and spending time outside is thought to have a positive impact on sleep. Consider the exercise and activities engaged in during the day and your child’s activity needs.
Limit naps to appropriate developmental times.
Keeping the bed for sleep can be helpful to prepare the brain for bedtime. E.g., watching Tv or spending lots of time lying down on bed mean the brain associates the bed with being alert, not calming. For older teens, who prefer to spend time in their room; consider sitting on a bean bag, or at a desk and chair for some activities.
The ideal time to go to bed is awake but drowsy: Monitor your child’s sleep patterns to establish their tired signs.
Consider communication used at bedtime based on your child’s developmental stage. This can help develop cues for bedtime.
Some children benefit from a visual schedule and checklist.

What to do if they can’t sleep:

If your child can’t get to sleep, getting out of bed and doing a quiet activity for a short period may help. Then return to your same routine and try again.

Some younger children like to have a soft toy/small cuddle blanket for comfort and can make them feel safe when the parent isn’t there.
Sleep associations: children may need and rely on the presence of an item or object to support positive sleep. For example, watching the Tv to fall asleep, using a dummy. This at times can impact the ability to stay asleep or resettle. Consider any tools/items your child is using and whether this has a positive impact or contributing to disturbed sleep.
Relaxation, breathing exercises can help promote relaxation and a calm feeling.
If your child is worried or anxious: acknowledge those feelings and determine if can be talked about in the morning or discussing the concern may help with settling. Liaising with a GP or health professional can be helpful if your child experiences anxiety.
Medication: Sleep medication can be prescribed by GPs at times to assist children in falling to sleep. Medications should only be taken under strict medical advice and should be discussed with your GP or paediatrician.

Ongoing problems with sleep:

Should you be concerned about your child’s sleep. Talk to a GP, paediatrician or child health nurse.
An occupational therapist can provide further advice and information based on your child’s individual needs to support positive sleep practices which may include exploring sensory needs, the environment, sleep associations and routines.
Using a sleep diary can help monitor timings, routine and sleep associations.

Please don’t hesitate to see an Occupational Therapist for more individualised strategies.

Other helpful resources

Raising Children Network- http://raisingchildren.net.au/

Sleep Health Foundation- www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/

Sleepability- Sleep Tips for Children.pdf (sleepability.com.au)

Royal Children’s Hospital- Kids Health Information : Bedtime problems – children (rch.org.au)