With all the activities that children are involved in from young ages,
it is becoming harder and harder for kids to get a full night’s sleep.
But how much is the right amount?
“As children get older, and they get more involved in extracurricular
activities, it becomes harder for them to get enough sleep during the
week. It then becomes very important for them to catch up on sleep
during the weekend, so they are rested for the upcoming week,” says
Robert C. Beckerman, MD, Medical Director of the Comprehensive Sleep
Disorders Center at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.
The right amount of sleep a child needs varies with age. From two to
six, the average child needs about 10-12 hours of sleep, as well a nap
during the day. From six to ten, they need about 10 hours a night and
from 10 -14, they need around nine hours.
Dr. Beckerman says the quality of sleep is as important as the
quantity. It’s important for sleep to progress through the normal
stages from onset, then deep sleep and finally to REM stage sleep. A
normal amount of deep and REM sleep is necessary for your child to be
rested, refreshed and alert for the next day’s learning and physical
activities.
Here are some things you can do to insure that your child maximizes
their sleeping time:
- Encourage exercise and outdoor play in the afternoon for their
dose of natural light exposure.
- Keep sound and visual stimulation such as television,
computers, video games and bright lights to a minimum within one hour
of their bed time.
- Avoid beverages that contain caffeine like soda and tea.
If you notice that your child snores loudly, sweats or kicks
repetitively during most nights’ sleep, they may have a sleep disorder
that could be disrupting the quality of their sleep, their day time
learning performance and other normal activities. Those observations
should be reported to your pediatrician who may then decide to request
a consultation with a pediatric sleep specialist.
