Saturday, October 27, 2012

Sleep Diary for Kids Ages 5-12

According to Lutheran Health Network's Sleep Disorder Center children between the ages of 5 through 12 should get 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night. How much sleep does your child get? Are they getting enough? Is your child's sleep affecting their mood and causing problems during the day? Sleep studies have determined that children who do not get enough sleep at night can start having problems as early as 3-4 years old. School age children can have difficulties learning in school and have problems playing with their peers. Here are a few tips that can help your child avoid sleep problems and achieve a good night's sleep.

Sleep Foundation Sleep Diary for Kids Ages 5-12


Set a regular time for bed each night and stick to it even on the weekends. Keeping a regular sleep schedule makes it easier for the child to fall asleep easy and wake up refreshed.

Establish a sleep routine before they go to bed. Giving them a warm bath or reading a story to them helps them relax and prepares their mind and body that it is time to go to sleep. It is best to stop video games, TV shows and rough-housing at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

Avoid big meals and anything with caffeine before bedtime. A heavy meal can cause indigestion causing them to wake up during the night. A lot of liquids before bed can also cause them to wake up to use the bathroom. Caffeine in soda or chocolate can stimulate your child and keep them awake. Some suggest not to have caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime.

Your child's room temperature may be affecting their quality of sleep. Make sure it is not too cold or too hot.

Your child's bedroom should also be quiet and dark. Is your child's bedroom next to the living room and they can hear the TV? Try some soft sleep music, a CD that has sleep mood sounds or even a fan to drown out the TV noise. Is your child afraid of the dark? If so, use a small night light instead of a bright hall light or TV.

Good sleep is not only important for your child's ability to function well during the day it is also important for their health. A good night's sleep can improve their cognitive function, provide more energy for sports and playing, fight germs and give them an over all better feeling about themselves. A sleep diary is a fun way to help you as the parent and your pediatrician guide your child to understand the importance of sleep and determine if your child has a sleep problem that can be treated. The following link is a sleep diary that is seven days long. Part 1 helps to acknowledge what your child is doing prior to going to bed and this will help establish a good sleep routine. Part 2 is completed after the child wakes up answering questions..How well did you sleep? and How much sleep did you get last night? Part 3 is completed at the end of the day to determine how the child felt and Part 4 is based on the day which they had the least amount of sleep and the most.

The information in this site is for informational purposes only and not meant as a substitute for advice from your healthcare professional. This information should not be used to diagnosis or treat any health problem. Information and statements provided by asleepeasy.com about supplements that have not been evaluated by the FDA are not intended to diagnosis, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Reliance on any information in this article or on this site is solely at your own risk.

SleepDiary
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Friday, October 26, 2012

What Sleep Positions Say About You

A new study is out revealing your sleep habits analyzing what your sleep positions say about you. According to a body language expert sleep positions can determine how stressed you are and make known such traits as stubbornness, bossiness, self-criticism and whether they feel they are in control of their life. The study of 1,000 sleepers, performed by Premier Inns, states that there are basically four types of sleep positions; the fetal, the log, the yearner and the freefallers.

The Fetal Position If you sleep on your side with your knees up curled into the fetal position you are among sleepers that are looking for comfort because they are often constant worriers. These people tend to over analysis what happened during the day and fret over their tasks…what if I did this, did I forget to do that, etc. Over half of the people in the study fell into this position when they hit the sheets.

The Log Position when you sleep on your side in a straight line with your arms at your side. 30% of the people in the study slept in the Log Position. What does this say about you? This rigid position might mean that you have a hard time relaxing and may wake up stiffer and in more discomfort than when you went to bed. Your muscles may not be getting the proper rest while you are asleep.

The Yearner is a sleeper that has outstretched arms when they are on their side. 25% of sleepers are yearners. These people are happy morning people that are excited about their life and chase their dreams. People that go after their dreams can be “day dreamers” and often lose focus on their goals and before they know it too much time has passed missing opportunities.

The Freefall Position sleepers are face down flat on the bed with arms and legs sprawled all over. What does it mean? You are seeking control of your time and space in a way that you don’t feel you have during the day. 17% of the people studied were considered freefallers and the body expert said these sleepers many be getting the least amount of restful sleep.

Professor Chris Idzikowskia, a sleep researcher at the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service, agrees that there is an association between the way you sleep and your personality. Also he suggests that there is a link between your sleep position and your over-all general health. If you sleep on your back with your arms and legs open he says these folks are more open and make friends easier than those that sleep in the log position. But he singles out the soldier sleeper who also sleeps on his back but in a more rigid position, as they tend to be quiet and more reserved. Remember back sleepers often struggle with getting a good night sleep as they tend to snore and may suffer from chronic sleep apnea or other breathing problems.

Another note: Which side of the bed do you sleep on? The study also mentioned that those who slept on the left side of the mattress have a brighter outlook on life and tend to be more optimistic about their work and personal life verses those that sleep on the right side. 31% of those in the study who slept on their left side of the bed loved their career, compared to 18% who slept on the right.

Both researchers say there is no one size fits all when it comes to sleep positions. According to Phipps the participants in his study of changed sleeping positions several times during the night.

The information in this site is for informational purposes only and not meant as a substitute for advice from your healthcare professional. This information should not be used to diagnosis or treat any health problem. Information and statements provided by asleepeasy.com about supplements that have not been evaluated by the FDA are not intended to diagnosis, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Reliance on any information in this article or on this site is solely at your own risk.
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Friday, October 5, 2012

Change Up Sleep Training Your Baby

While watching the movie Change Up Batemans character talked about sleep training his twins. What is sleep training and does it work? Many parents struggle to get their babies to sleep. Sleep training is developing a sleep routine that helps the baby learn how to fall asleep on their own and stay asleep all night. Some babies fall into this habit easily while others have difficulty settling down to sleep even if they wake up during the night.

Around 6 weeks of age you can start a sleep routine by establishing a set time for them to go to bed each night (this also will work for nap time) then add calming methods that help the child to become sleepy like; a warm bath, reading, listening to soothing music then give them their bottle before putting them to bed.

If you are planning on trying sleep training and your child has difficulty falling asleep due to parental separation anxiety don’t let them get into the habit of falling asleep in your arms/lap. It is very important when feeding your baby his last bottle of the day that you put them in bed still awake. This is why when they wake up during the night and discover that you are not there they won’t be able to fall back to sleep without you. You need sleep too and many mothers suffer from depression due to lack of sleep.

According to a new study letting the infant cry it out using two methods won’t cause any lasting psychological harm to the child or your relationship with them. In fact, at the end of the study they found that the methods of “controlled comforting” and “camping out” improved the children’s sleep problems while helping mothers with depression from lack of sleep.

Controlled comforting is when a parent gradually takes longer to respond to their child’s cries and camping out is when a parent gradually eases out of the child’s room, which eventually teaches the child to fall asleep without the parent there. I used this method and in three months my daughter could fall asleep without me in her room. Establishing a sleep routine can last a lifetime because these habits become the norm. The children in the study, now 6 years old, not only benefited from using one of these methods to help with sleep problems it helped with their stress levels and their relationship with their parents.

Of course there may be other reasons your child could be crying; stomach ache, too hot/too cold, needs a diaper change. Some mother’s know the meaning of their child’s cries. If your child is crying because he is overtired or because you just left their bedroom remember that they slept 9 months in your womb listening to the beat of your heart, which is why they probably fall fast to sleep laying on your chest. Like a beating heart that is a repetitive sound, try other sounds that cause the same calming effect such as white noise, a fan or there are CD’s that mimic the sounds in the womb.



Some parents find it hard to sleep train especially if their children have trouble falling asleep. According to doctors infants can tell the difference between night and day by the age of 4 to 6 months and their sleep/wake cycle is developing. The length of these sleep cycles depends on your baby. She will probably sleep for blocks of about two hours in the day, and four hours to six hours at night. Some babies sleep through the night within weeks, while others take a year or more to achieve this. Their crying phase will eventually pass and as your baby grows they will learn new ways of communicating their needs to you. When this happens the crying will stop. Sleeping through the night starts with a good sleep routine. Your baby will eventually understand taking a bath, reading a book or listening to the sounds of the womb will mean bedtime. And by the time they are 1 they should be sleeping 12 hours straight. Hallelujah!

The information in this site is for informational purposes only and not meant as a substitute for advice from your healthcare professional. This information should not be used to diagnosis or treat any health problem. Information and statements provided by asleepeasy.com about supplements that have not been evaluated by the FDA are not intended to diagnosis, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Reliance on any information in this article or on this site is solely at your own risk.

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