Children’s sleep can be notoriously rocky, but new research serves as a reminder to parents to not simply brush it off as a rite of passage if their child has a difficult time falling or staying asleep.
The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics this week, show that 43% of children who had symptoms of insomnia continued to grapple with the sleep disorder in their 20s and 30s.
And it’s not necessarily rare. Estimates suggest up to a quarter of kids have insomnia symptoms of some kind.
The consequences of insufficient sleep
Growing kids have pretty massive sleep needs — more so than adults. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children need up to 16 hours a day when they’re babies; up to 12 or 13 hours a day when they’re in preschool and elementary school; and up to 10 hours a day as teens.
But many American kids fall well short of those goals. In one survey, just over half of children ages 6 to 17 were getting at least nine hours of sleep per night.
The consequences of that can be significant. Sleep touches on just about every aspect of children’s health and well-being, from their immune system function to their ability to pay attention and behave. Kids who don’t get enough sleep tend to do worse in school.
As the new study published this week also shows, it is important for kids to get enough sleep because the patterns they develop in childhood can last for years. Insomnia is a complex problem with many potential causes, including underlying medical conditions, other sleep-related disorders (like sleep apnea) or even genetics. But sleep habits also play an important role. Things like changing bedtime schedules, screen use before bed or during the night, or even eating too late in the evening can play a role in children’s ability to fall or stay asleep consistently.
What parents should look out for
A challenge for parents, of course, is that some degree of sleep messiness is a part of growing up for many children, particularly when they’re younger. Many of the potential signs of childhood insomnia, like bedtime refusal or frequent “curtain calls” throughout the night (asking for water, a cuddle, etc.) will sound quite familiar to many parents whose children’s behavior doesn’t necessarily rise to the level of being a real sleep problem. Pediatric sleep experts say resisting bedtime is common for toddlers and preschoolers, but beyond that it could be a sign of something more serious.
And sometimes, it comes down to a gut feeling.
“At what point does disrupted sleep become a problem? In general, if you find that poor sleep is impacting well-being for a child or for the family as a whole, it is likely time to seek some help from your pediatrician or a certified sleep specialist,” pediatrician Dr. Krupa Playforth told HuffPost.
She also pointed to potential red flags including (but not limited to):
a prolonged change in sleep lasting more than two weeks
snoring or other breathing changes during sleep
excessive daytime fatigue
mood changes, social changes or other changes in your child’s ability to function day to day
“Very often, parents do not feel like they should seek help with issues surrounding sleep or behavior, because they feel they should be able to manage these things on their own, or they fear being judged because of a pattern of poor sleep habits that have been cultivated over time,” Playforth said. “But pediatricians and sleep specialists understand and want to help, and certainly recognize the importance of healthy, restful sleep not just to the child’s health, but to the family’s health as well.”
So if you have any questions or concerns about whether your child is grappling with sleep issues that extend beyond the norm, reach out, Playforth urged. Children might benefit from simple changes to their routine or they might need more intensive interventions, like cognitive behavioral therapy strategies aimed specifically at treating insomnia.
As the new study makes clear: Insomnia won’t necessarily clear up on its own. The habits children establish when they’re young can have a lasting impact on their ability to get sufficient sleep down the road.