Insomnia might sound like an adult problem, but many kids experience insomnia symptoms, and new research suggests that most symptomatic children will continue to have trouble in their teen years or beyond. How do experts define insomnia? Who is at higher risk for developing symptoms? And what can we do to prevent lasting sleep problems? Here’s an overview of the evidence.
Can a lack of sleep cause stress? Research confirms that we experience more stress the day after a poor night’s sleep. And the effects might be particularly noticeable for parents struggling to care for multiple children while holding down a job.
Sleep loss is linked with weight gain, but why? Experiments suggest that sleep restriction prompts kids to seek out sugary snacks and drinks.
Electronic media devices can cause sleep problems in children. How serious is this? And what can we do about it?
When kids skimp on sleep, there’s more at stake than feeling a bit grumpy and drowsy. Learn about the signs of sleep deprivation.
© 2021 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Studies suggest that most babies begin to “sleep through the night” (at least 5-6 hours without parental intervention) by 3-6 months of age. But some infants take longer, and the road to progress can be bumpy. Even after babies experience their first, long episodes of nighttime sleep, Read More »
Bedtime problems are pretty common, especially among young children. But are these problems inevitable? No. Cross-cultural research — and clinical studies — indicate that we can quash most troubles by making a few, key changes. What should we do when our children fail to fall asleep at bedtime, or protest that they aren’t sleepy? Or Read More »
© 2020 Gwen Dewar, all rights reserved Bedtime fading is a gentle, “no cry” technique for re-aligning your child’s internal clock with the bedtime you desire. You start by asking your child to go to bed late — late enough that your child experiences a powerful physiological urge to sleep. Then, over multiple days, you Read More »
Is there such a thing as “baby sleep deprivation” ? It’s clear that babies can cause sleep deprivation in others. But whether or not babies themselves suffer from sleeplessness is less clear. In my search for published studies about infants with insomnia, I’ve come up with almost nothing. Researchers acknowledge all sorts of infant sleep Read More »
A comprehensive, troubleshooting guide © 2020 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved How can we help kids adapt to an earlier schedule? Morning sunlight, exercise, and other environmental cues can help reset a child’s internal clock. But to make sure kids feel physiologically drowsy at bedtime, we need to use additional strategies. Understanding the big Read More »
© 2019 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Night wakings have a bad reputation, and no wonder. Just about everybody has experienced it: awakening spontaneously in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep. If you are a parent, you also know what it’s like when somebody else keeps waking you up. Read More »
How does television affect sleep? In adults, it can push back bedtimes and disrupt sleep patterns. In young children, even more can go wrong. Here’s what to look out for.