Children’s insomnia can harm a child, and you should not close your eyes to sleep problems. Insomnia – a violation of the continuity of night sleep. And many children have it.
According to statistics, 25% of children from 1 to 5 years old do not sleep well. The reasons may be very different, depending on age. But the consequences are always bad.
During sleep, children produce growth hormone, somatotropic hormone. If the baby sleeps restlessly, physical development slows down.
The ability to think is violated: the child does some of the tasks during the daytime automatically, but makes mistakes where it is necessary to do something new and the autopilot does not work, the ability to think logically is lost. The nervous system of the child is not restored.
Possible causes of sleep disorders in infants :
They can also be helped by the doctor after examining and testing:
teething (pain, accumulates saliva);
food allergy ( gas in the stomach due to milk, eggs, wheat, citrus fruits, onions, nuts and other products);
unpleasant odors (cigarette smoke in the room where the child sleeps);
regurgitation of gastric juice (the child has the same sensations as adults for heartburn) is more easily tolerated in an upright position;
worms (for example, pinworms when they lay eggs, cause itching in the anus);
ear infections (fluid accumulates and presses on the eardrum, if the baby is raised vertically, the pressure passes and the pain decreases);
too warm or dry air in the room.
Psychological causes of insomnia in children
Frequent waking due to the habit of sleeping with the breasts or falling asleep after motion sickness.
At 2-3 years, the child is afraid of separation, which may wake up, checking whether the parents are in place.
Overabundance of impressions and information during the day lead to over-excitement.
Changing bedtime rituals (mother did not kiss, did not buy, etc.).
Books, cartoons, stories about babahs can lead to the fact that the child is afraid to fall asleep: he sees horror stories in the dark corners of the room.
They provoke increased anxiety, anxiety, tension. In children, it may be after watching the ultica, the uncomfortable situation in the garden or school, changes in the schedule, changing the nurse, parting with the mother …
How to improve sleep in a child
It is important to provide an integrated approach, remove irritants, provide good conditions for children’s sleep.
Contrast between sleep and wakefulness
In order to establish a dream, you need to create a sharp contrast between sleep and wakefulness. Happy – run and play romps, live in bright light. Getting ready for bed, create a calm environment: ventilate the room, remove unnecessary sounds, dim the lights, send toys to sleep, but leave the one with which it is good to fall asleep. White noise helps – recording of surf, wind, rain, and also – the included fan in the summer.
Make it more comfortable bed.
Check whether the mattress is suitable for stiffness, if the children’s pillow is too high, or if the bed is narrow.
Drink or eat something soothing
It is useful to drink warm milk with honey, a decoction of relaxing and soothing herbs (chamomile, melissa, mint, motherwort, valerian – for children after 3 years and carefully). By the way, cold water invigorates, warm calms. And on a full stomach it is more difficult to fall asleep.
Release Ritual helps reduce anxiety.
To make up if there were quarrels, to talk about anxiety (often children just relaxing before bedtime can talk about what they really care about), remember the pleasant events of the day and plan the same joyful moments for the next day. And a lullaby can also become a good ritual of falling asleep.
Relaxing massage
Often, if a child starts jumping, jumping, moving feverishly, hugging and stroking, you can find tense muscles throughout the body. Massage helps relax muscles. And some areas can be “ pummeled ” with palms and fingers to relax. The shoulder area and upper back, arms, legs, and feet should be gently massaged and finally patted and covered. Add hugs.
“Journey through the body”
In yoga, this method is used at the end of a child’s lesson to relax. You can play on a journey through the body before going to sleep: to transfer attention to different parts of the body. Start with your toes and move smoothly to the crown. Call parts of the body and imagine that you travel along it, not moving. In the process, you can wish quiet nights to the parts of the body.
Aromatherapy
Oils for insomnia: lavender, mint, oregano, rose, rosemary. They can be added to the bathroom during the evening bathing. “Solvent” for aroma oils is ordinary salt or milk: drip first into salt or milk, and then dissolve in the bath. You can turn on the oil burner or drop a few drops on the pillow – if you are sure that the child is not allergic to odors.
Sense of security
We are anxious if we do not feel safe. It is good to understand what could cause anxiety and anxiety in a child and how to return safety to him – through conversation, his presence, hug, toy or object nearby, etc. 15 minutes after falling asleep, the child begins that phase of sleep, when he can tell what does not work during the day: how we love him, that the mother is big, and you are small, that you are healthy and all body systems are also healthy. The only thing is not to use negatives with the particle “not” and speak only in the present tense.
Sufficient exercise during the day
If a child spent a day in a room without a watch or watched cartoons, it will be bad to fall asleep and sleep. A sufficient amount of physical activity and walks is one of the conditions for a good sleep.
About the fact that a lot of cartoons before bedtime prevent all moms from sleeping well, I think they understand that.