Young Children With Bedtime Problems And Night Wakings Can Best Benefit From Behavioral Treatments

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 07 Oct 2006 - 23:00 PDT

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The refusal of young children to go to bed at night can cause unnecessary stress for members of their family. However, parents and guardians can take comfort in knowing that behavioral treatments are an effective means for resolving a child's bedtime problems and night wakings.

The study, conducted by Jodi A. Mindell, PhD, of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, is based on a review of 52 treatment studies, participated by 2,500 infants and toddlers, by a task force appointed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

"The results indicate hat behavioral therapies produce reliable and durable changes in bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and children," wrote Mindell. "Across all studies, 94 percent report that behavioral interventions produced clinically significant improvements in bedtime problems and/or night wakings. Approximately 82 percent of children benefit from treatment and the majority maintain these results for three to six months."

Mindell noted that additional research is needed to examine the delivery methods of treatment, longer term efficacy and the role of pharmacological agents.

According to Mindell, studies have shown that 20 to 30 percent of young children have significant bedtime problems and/or night wakings. In addition, night wakings are among the most common sleep problems in infants and toddlers, with 25 to 50 percent of children over the age of six months waking during the night, added Mindell.

AASM offers the following tips to help a child sleep better:
* Follow a consistent bedtime routine. Set aside 10 to 30 minutes to get your child ready to go to sleep each night.
* Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime.
* Interact with your child at bedtime. Don't let the TV, computer or video games take your place.
* Keep your children from TV programs, movies, and video games that are not right for their age.
* Do not let your child fall asleep while being held, rocked, fed a bottle, or while nursing.
* At bedtime, do not allow your child to have foods or drinks that contain caffeine (e.g., chocolate and sodas). Try not to give him or her any medicine that has a stimulant at bedtime (e.g., cough medicines and decongestants).

Experts recommend that infants (three to 11 months) get 14 to 15 hours of sleep per night, while toddlers get 12 to 14 hours, pre-schoolers 11 to 13 hours and school-age children 10 to 11 hours.

A child who gets enough sleep and sleeps well is more likely to be cheerful during the day. The better the child sleeps, the happier the entire family will be.

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Sleep is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

SleepEducation.com, a Web site maintained by the AASM, provides information about the various sleep disorders that exist, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.

Source: October 1st issue of the journal Sleep

For further information please go to:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine

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