Sleep: Helping Your Children—and Yourself—Sleep Well

Several types of sleep problems can keep a child awake at night:

• Young children sometimes try to delay going to bed by asking for another story or for another sip of water.
• A child may wake up after wetting the bed or needing a diaper change.
• Some children have nightmares. Others may have night terrors. Night terrors are different from nightmares because the child remains asleep throughout the entire episode and does not have any memory of it in the morning.
• Some teenagers have a problem called delayed sleep-phase syndrome. This means that they can't get to sleep until early morning and it's very hard for them to get up in the morning. This is different from when a teenager chooses to stay up late and is too tired to get up in the morning.
• Some children have health problems that can lead to sleep problems. In some cases, treating the health condition can improve sleep. For example, a child whose asthma is under control may not wake up at night because of coughing.

Continue to Why?

Children who don't get enough good quality sleep may have trouble learning and developing socially. They may be tired during the day and not able to pay attention in school.

And a child's sleep problems can affect parents' sleep. Parents may be in the child's room during the night trying to get the child back to sleep—or the child may try to get in bed with the parents to get back to sleep. Lack of sleep can make parents tired during the day, affecting work and family life.

Continue to How?

Help your baby sleep well

• At night, set up a soothing routine. Give your baby a bath, sing lullabies, read a book, or tell a story.
• When your baby is getting sleepy, put your baby in his or her crib in a quiet, darkened room. This will help your baby learn to go to sleep in his or her crib.
• Try to feed your hungry newborn when he or she starts to wake up and is still calm. Hungry cries often start with a whimper and become louder and longer. If you respond before your newborn gets upset, he or she will feed and go back to sleep easier.
• Periods of murmuring and restlessness every 50 to 60 minutes are a normal part of a baby sleep cycle. The restlessness usually lasts a few minutes. If you leave your baby alone, he or she will likely fall back to sleep.
• Settle your baby down to sleep as quickly as possible if he or she is not acting hungry during a nighttime feeding.
• If your baby wakes up and doesn't settle down, check to see if he or she is hungry or needs a diaper change. Feed or change your baby quietly. Keep the light low. Don't play with or sing to your baby. Put him or her back in the crib as soon as you can.
• Try to stay calm. Young children are very sensitive to a parent's feelings of frustration.
• Be consistent. If you change your plan for how to handle nighttime crying, make sure that you and your partner agree on it before you go to bed.

Help your child sleep well

• Set up a bedtime routine to help your child get ready for bed and sleep. For example, read together, cuddle, and listen to soft music for 15 to 30 minutes before you turn out the lights. Do things in the same order each night so your child knows what to expect.
  • Have your child go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
  • Keep your child's bedroom quiet, dark or dimly lit, and cool. Keep TVs and computers out of your child's room.
  • Limit activities that stimulate your child, such as playing and watching TV, in the hours closer to bedtime.
• If your child wakes up and calls for you in the middle of the night, make your response the same each time. Offer quick comfort, but then leave the room.
• Help prevent nightmares by controlling what your child watches on TV.
• Have your child take medicines exactly as prescribed. Call your doctor if your child has any problems with his or her medicine.
• Do not try to wake your child during a night terror. Instead, reassure and hold your child to prevent injury.
• If your child sleepwalks, keep the windows and doors locked during sleep time.
• If your child is overweight, work with your child to set goals for managing his or her weight. Being overweight can cause sleep problems or make them worse.

Help your teen sleep well

• Talk to your teen about why it's important to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
• If your teen is going to bed at a very late hour, teach him or her how to change bedtime a little at a time. Suggest that your teen go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until the best bedtime is reached.
• Have your teen keep his or her bedroom quiet, dark, and cool at bedtime. It's best to remove the TV, computer, phone, and video games from your teen's room.
• Encourage your teen to manage his or her homework load. This can prevent the need to study all night before a test or stay up late to do homework.
• If a teen has trouble waking up in the morning, ask what you can do to help.
  • Offer to wake him or her.
  • Offer to check to make sure your teen got up when the alarm went off.
  • Offer to turn on a bright light in the room when it's time to get up.

• Teach your teen to avoid caffeine (found in soda pop, energy drinks, coffee, tea, and chocolate) after 3 p.m.
• If your teen is overweight, work with your teen to set goals for managing his or her weight. Being overweight can be linked with sleep problems.

Help yourself sleep well

• Avoid or limit caffeine and nicotine, especially in the hours before bedtime. Both can keep you awake.
• Don't drink alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol can cause you to wake up more often during the night.
• Don't take medicine that may keep you awake, or make you feel hyper or energized, right before bed. Your doctor can tell you if your medicine may do this and if you can take it earlier in the day.
• Use the evening hours for settling down. Avoid watching TV and using the computer or phone if they keep you from getting to sleep.
• Make exercise a regular part of your life, but don't do it within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime.
• Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Try using a sleep mask to help you sleep.
• Take a warm bath before bed.
• Make your own sleep routine. Try to have the same bedtime and wake-up time each day.
• If you are overweight, set goals to manage your weight. Being overweight can be linked with sleep problems.
• Manage stress. The stress and worry that come with having a child who isn't sleeping well may be causing you sleep problems too. But there are steps you can take to manage that stress and sleep better.

Continue to Where?

Now that you have read this information, you are ready to take steps to help your family sleep better.

If you have questions about this information, print it out and take it with you when you visit your doctor.

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