Sleep - Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits And Suggestions For Sleep Hygiene From Early Years.
4 months to 12 months- 12-16 hours.
1 to 2 years- 11-14 hours.
3 to 5 years- 10-13 hours.
6 to 12 years- 9-12 hours.
13 to 18 years- 8-10 hours.
As suggested by American Academy of Paediatrics .Knowing the normal duration helps us to plan for the same and seek help when needed.
1. Keep the total duration of sleep ( including naps and night sleep ) – around the expected for age duration.
2. Maintain structure and consistency -in waking and going to bed timings .No later than 9 pm in the night .Discourage afternoon naps after 4 pm.
3. Daily structure – include activities and exercise.
4. Bed time routines -brush teeth, bath, change of clothes and bed time story. This help to child to prepare to fall asleep.
5. Avoid – exercise and screen 1-2 hours, caffeine about 6 hours before bed. They will stimulate us , rather than help us fall asleep.
6. Ambient – temperature, sound, light will help in a good night ‘s sleep.Soothing music , dark or dim lit room ,cool room with comfortable blanket and favourite toy around also helps .
7. Family – support, positive parenting and motivation helps a lot. Appreciate them but be neutral when things don’t go well.
1. Failure of consistency in routines and parenting – avoid power struggles and conflicts before bedtime.
2. Learnt behaviour– they learn it is fine to wake up, when there’s no firm parenting and boundaries.
3. Distractions -Sound , light , electronics in the room.
1. Structure , activities ,awareness of sensory disturbances (sound, light )- as mentioned before
2. Use pictures for the bed time routine. When explained with visual supports (pictures ), they understand better and reduces their anxiety.
*You can use coloured photos , line figures , parts of objects to help them understand
3. Use stories – to teach them expected behaviour. Read it 3-4 times a day. Pre teaching is helpful.
4. Medical conditions – constipation, cold, tooth pain, allergy could also be disturbing their sleep.
5. Medications – could also be a cause ( discuss with doctor ).
6. Older kids- use tokens, they can exchange for rewards next day, if they don’t wake up in the night. Motivate them.
1. Sleep not settling in spite of above measures .
2. Waking up in the night for long time , trouble falling asleep again.
snoring, movements, screaming and excessive sleepiness in the morning.
3. Contact your paediatrician or developmental team for further guidance.
1. Autism speaks sleep toolkit - has visual schedules, story , sleep log
2. Heathy children.org- sleep
