Sleep Info | smhappy

Sleep information: Key points

In the average school classroom of 30 pupils, between three and twelve children experience problems with their sleep.

Sleep is as important to our bodies as food and water, and it is especially important for children as their bodies are going through a high number of developmental stages, including learning, fighting off illness, and physical growth (growth hormones are released when children sleep). Hormones are like chemical messengers that help to balance our bodies and to communicate with other parts of our body.

When we sleep, the brain (which requires more water than any other part of the body) uses water and glucose for energy. As little as 5% reduction in the water supply to the brain can cause memory loss and fatigue. Without water, the brain won’t function as well as it can with water. To avoid water causing sleep related insomnia, aim to drink half a pint to one pint of water one hour before bed, and drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up, to train your brain into a system that communicates that it will not become dehydrated.

Did you know: that excessive sleep deprivation can cause similar affects to the body like being drunk.

Researchers have found that even as little as one hour less of sleep over a period of four days results in daytime tiredness, emotional regulation difficulties, and cognitive difficulties (with short-term memory and working memory, attention, and math fluency).

Both short-term and long-term sleep loss has been found to impact the brain’s stress response and is associated with the premature development of disease and reduced life expectancy. Children who may experience sleep difficulties may tend to be ill more frequently, as sleep loss can affect the immune system. When we sleep our bodies are involved in repairing our cells as this is supported by the duration and quality of sleep.

At night, some people may experience more itching as the hormone cortisol is naturally reduced in our bodies. Cortisol acts like a naturally strong anti-inflammatory in the body to control inflammation, pain and itching. It can be why mosquito bites itch more at night.

The reason that it is not recommended to eat less than three hours before bedtime, is because during digestion the blood in the body will be focused around the stomach area and involved in helping the body to digest food. This can mean that the blood is distracted from the areas of the body needed to bring on sleep and to maintain sleep.

Going without breakfast is not recommended as this can cause a higher level of the stress hormone cortisol to be released into your body throughout the day due to the body not receiving its required nutrients. This can mean that when bedtime arrives, the body is in a higher state of stress or arousal at bedtime than normal. This is the case, even for those who may not feel hungry in the morning because the night before, your body has been involved in a fast (a long period without food or water). Melatonin (the sleepy hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone) balance out as if on weighing scales. When the cortisol hormone starts to increase, melatonin decreases. This is an evolutionary response as it would not help us to survive if we went to sleep when we were faced with danger.

Technology: Is your child using a mobile phone, TV, tablet, or computer game before bed? Tips on managing screen time can be found here. Researchers recommend turning off devices approximately two hours prior to bedtime or use new night shift settings on some devices, or download the evidence-based software f.lux: www.justgetflux.com.

Light: is the room completely dark? Lights can reduce the body’s natural production of melatonin (the sleepy/darkness hormone), by making the body feel that it is still daytime and should be alert. In people who regularly sleep at night, melatonin starts rising about 3 hours before sleep, and increases sharply at normal bedtime. If there is a rim of light around the curtain, the room is not dark enough.

Did you know: Snoring is common in up to 12% of children aged between one and nine. A smaller number of these children may have sleep apnoea where they struggle for breath, wake gasping for air and feel unrested.

Blackcurrant juice can make your child need the toilet more frequently as it is a diuretic.

Researchers found a decrease of between 50 – 75% of ADHD-related symptoms (inattention and hyperactivity) due to more efficient sleep when parents followed a brief sleep intervention: (2 consultations and 1 follow-up phone call).

The two types of sleep

NREM sleep

During this stage, the heart rate and breathing slows and the muscles relax.
There is a reduction in brain activity.
Children are typically harder to awaken at this stage of deep sleep.
It has been found to strengthen memories of factual recall.
In primary school-aged children aged between six and eleven, NREM sleep accounts for between 75% to 78% of all sleep

REM sleep:

Starts approx. 90 minutes after we fall asleep.
Particular brain areas are activated that are involved in organisation, planning, reasoning skills, problem solving, decision making, and multi-tasking skills.
Sleep deprivation is affected in this stage of sleep resulting in greater emotional responses to daily life.
Children may be more readily awoken and alert and in primary school-aged children aged between six and eleven, it accounts for between 22% and 25% of all sleep.
Our brains are active but our bodies do not move due to the deep relaxed state it falls into.

For more information about how hormones can affect sleep: