Sleepless in Chattanooga

Use the holidays to set new sleep routines for you and your kids

Edna’s wakeup call

I know I need to get more rest, and I had that fact confirmed a few weeks ago. I was watching a science fiction movie about a day when everyone on earth suddenly blacked out for two minutes and 17 seconds—people everywhere just dropped where they were. Before I could consider what that meant for those flying or driving, I caught myself thinking, “They got two minutes and 17 seconds of extra sleep!” That response was definitely a wakeup call.

Over the next few days, I noticed people on the streets, in meetings, on airplanes, nearly everywhere, either yawning, napping or nodding off.  My friends have joked about my taking a siesta as soon as the lights go down at the movies, and one suggested that my perfect eHarmony match is probably the Sandman.

If we adults are having trouble staying bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, this could explain why our children are fast asleep in school, in the car and at the dinner table. Are we sleepless in Chattanooga? If so, what can we do about it?

Lu and Edna check out the research

Many of our adult sleeping habits may start during childhood, but even when they don’t, we can pass on our new bad habits to children well into their teens.  A University of Michigan study* on children and sleep offers these tips for parents who want to know more about the negative impact of inadequate sleep and make some changes at home:

What do parents need to know about school-age children and sleep?

School-aged children still need somewhere between nine and 12 hours of sleep at night. If you suspect your child may be among the sleepless in Chattanooga, take this quick quiz from the U-M website:

• Do your children fall asleep in the car almost every time you drive with them?
• Do you have to wake your child up almost every morning?
• Does your child seem over-tired, cranky, irritable, aggressive, over-emotional or hyperactive, or have trouble thinking during the day?
• On some nights, does your child “crash” much earlier than his or her usual bedtime?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, your child may not be getting enough sleep. We live in a very sleep-deprived society. Sleep-deprived children (and adults) have more trouble controlling their emotions. The part of the brain that helps us to control our actions and our response to feelings is affected greatly by lack of sleep. Not getting enough sleep can lead to all kinds of problems, such as behavior problems, attention problems, and not doing well in school.

Teaching good sleep habits

The Michigan study offers some excellent “dos and don’ts,” including the following:

Do:

• At bedtime, spend some special time with your child. Be firm and go through a certain bedtime routine that your child is used to. At the end of that routine, the lights go off and it is time to fall asleep.
• Put some thought into finding your child’s ideal bedtime. In the evening, look for the time when your child really is starting to slow down and getting physically tired. That’s the time that he should be going to sleep, so get the bedtime routine done and get him into bed before that time. If you wait beyond that time, children tend to get a second wind. At that point they will become more difficult to handle and will have a harder time falling asleep.
• Use light to your advantage. Keep lights dim in the evening, as bedtime approaches. In the morning, get your child into bright light, and, if possible, take her outside. Light helps signal the brain into the right sleep-wake cycle.

Don’t:

• Don’t fill up your child’s bed with toys. It’s probably best to keep your child’s bed a place to sleep, rather than a place to play. Too many toys in the bed can be distracting.
• Never use sending your child to bed as a threat. Bedtime needs to be a secure, loving time, not a punishment. Your goal is to teach your children that bedtime is enjoyable, just as it is for us adults.
• Don’t give your child foods and drinks with caffeine in them, like hot chocolate, tea, cola, chocolate, etc. Even caffeine earlier in the day could disrupt your child’s sleep cycle.
• If your child has a TV in his bedroom, remove it. Research shows that watching TV is linked to sleep problems, especially if the TV is in the child’s bedroom. Other media in a child’s bedroom, such as a computer or video games, are also associated with poor sleep.

So why is sleep a timely topic? The November and December holidays are approaching, with time out of school to catch up on some shut-eye and start reshaping some habits for the months ahead. How about announcing in advance some new routines for Thanksgiving and that 10-day winter break in December?

Visit your relatives, spend extra time with friends—and get some sleep!