Sleep Hygiene and Other Tips for a Good Nights Sleep for Children

Helping Our Children Sleep

Monday was always a good day for our daughter. Then, like a stone rolling down the slope, she was just worn out by Thursday. Her problem was not some chronic disease or nutritional deficiency. The culprit was sleep debt and the antidote was sound snoozing. Sleep deprivation plagues most Americans because our lifestyles do not accommodate our natural sleep rhythms. Inside every human is a biological clock - a unique mechanism - that, when ignored, can have tragic results.

In the beginning, people must learn their optimum nightly sleep level. This is easier said than done because there are many factors that influence sleep requirements. In general, however, each person should be able to identify a pattern of say 7, 8 or 9 hours per night. A great way to get at that pattern is to retire when you are sleepy and wake when you are refreshed. Of course if you have to go to work or school this is an impossible study so you best undertake it on vacation or summer break. A sleep journal, beside the bed, is helpful in making notes because you won't remember everything you think you will; especially when you get tired. 

Once you know the optimum sleep pattern for your body (at this stage in your life) you can estimate your accumulated sleep debt. According to Dr. William Dement in his book The Promise of Sleep we begin accumulating this sleep debt when we stop sleeping. That doesn't mean you have to count the minutes you are awake it just means you can consider the energy tank draining once you begin your day. If you don’t get the required sleep each night the sleep debt will build up. And no, you can’t sleep for 49 hours then stay awake for the following five days. Sleep debt calculations are much more complex; just know this, if you don’t average the proper amount of sleep each night you will have to make it up sometime or grow fatigued.