There is much to be learned about the ins and outs of sleep such as how much it provides for the body and the brain and how to best manage a person’s ability to “sleep well”. Examining sleep from a parent’s perspective is something I never thought about before. However, I know first-hand how proper sleep, and lack of proper sleep may affect children’s behavior. I clearly recall being in the hospital when my oldest was only a day old, walking the floors trying to soothe him to sleep. Even now, at four, he still wakes in the middle of the night and comes down the hall to my room. My two-year old daughter is better with her sleep. However, she began climbing out of her crib just after turning two and we made the move to a toddler bed shortly after. It is quite a challenge for her to fall asleep; when she does, she does not stay in her room and wakes up during the night.
It occurs to me that my son has never learned to become a good sleeper and it has affected many areas of his life. He is often tired but refuses to sleep; he is cranky and quick to show emotions in extremes with very large tantrums. These symptoms are more contained and less noticeable when he sleeps through the night and/or goes to sleep at a reasonable time. Similarly, my daughter refuses to sleep and misses naps, or has shortened them considerably when she does nap. We observed that after a night of multiple waking, and/or short or missed naps, she will have what we have learned are possibly Night Terrors.
Researchers are consistently trying to understand the full impact of sleep on health and normal development. What is the connection to routine, proper nutrition or genetics? Does it occur in any specific stage or length of time? What are the more common sleep disorders that affect children in early childhood? Is there a link to amount of sleep achieved throughout the day/night? What