It is normal for the time from preparing for bed to falling asleep in less than 20 minutes. Difficulty falling asleep is considered to be a common type of sleep disorder in infants and young children if it takes more than 20 minutes to fall asleep. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to first identify the cause of the difficulty falling asleep and then intervene in a targeted manner.
However, caregivers do not need to worry too much, because the sleep disorder of infants and young children is very different from adult insomnia, and the impact on infants and young children is much less than that of adults.
Sleep disorders in infants and young children are more likely to affect the sleep of caregivers, affect the work during the day, disturb family members, and even lead to tension in family relationships.
1. The nervous system is not mature
The sleep time of infants and young children is generally relatively long, and the neurological development of infants and young children is not yet fully mature, especially for babies under 2 years old, who are easily excited, irritable, and not easy to calm down.
At this point, as the child grows up, the nervous system will slowly develop, and it will become easier and easier to fall asleep, but it will not always maintain a good sleep state, and there will be fluctuations and regressions, showing a spiraling upward trend.
2. Failure to establish a fixed sleep routine
Whether it's an infant or toddler, it's advisable to develop a regular bedtime routine so that your mind can calm down and fall asleep better.
From the time when the baby is 3 months old or younger, at the same time, in the same scene, by the same caregiver, repeatedly doing the same thing, giving the baby a kind of hope, easy to obtain, harmless, gradually forming a conditioned reflex and generating sleep signals.
A strong relationship between parents helps children gain a greater sense of security, promotes intimate contact between children and parents, and promotes children's physical and mental health.
3. Too excited before bedtime
Avoid playing with your phone before going to bed. Studies have found that watching TV and using electronic devices before bedtime, especially putting electronic devices in young children's rooms, can lead to difficulty falling asleep, shortened overall sleep time, and nightmares, night anxiety, etc. Therefore, caregivers should keep electronic devices away from the child's sleeping environment.
It is recommended not to use it within 3 years old, try to avoid video screen electronic products within 6 years old, and avoid strenuous exercise before going to bed. Keep the activity time less than 30 minutes before bedtime, so that the child is quiet at the end of the activity and does not get too excited. Bedtime activities should be done outside of the bed. Beds should only be used for babies and toddlers to sleep, avoid playing in bed.
4. Insufficient energy consumption
If you want to fall asleep on your own, you must first be sleepy, and secondly, you must be able to relax yourself. If young children do not exercise enough, especially if there are few outdoor activities, then they will naturally have difficulty falling asleep due to insufficient energy consumption and no sleepiness.
From the birth of the baby to the full moon, it is necessary to gradually increase the time of outdoor activities according to the season and weather conditions, preferably about 2 hours a day. Babies under 1 year old can engage in various physical activities such as touching, passive exercises, and turning over. Children aged 1-3 years old should have at least 3 hours of physical activity of varying intensity, including indoor and outdoor sports, every day. The duration of each infant in the arms or stroller should not exceed 1 hour.
5. Insufficient restrictions on falling asleep
Delayed or unwilling to sleep in young children** is related to caregivers not being properly restrained.
If the caregiver has no or few constraints, or if some restraints are set and not implemented well, or if the constraints are not sustainable, they are prone to difficulty falling asleep.
According to the age of the child, make an agreement with the child, plan a bedtime program, you can make some interesting cards, and then implement it gently and firmly, pay attention to keep your emotions stable, and do not yell at the baby before going to bed.
6. Insufficient parent-child communication and interaction, lack of security
The caregiver has a short time with the child or the quality of the accompanying interaction is not high, and the child's emotional communication is not satisfied, which will also cause the child to be unwilling to sleep, deliberately delay or refuse to sleep, resulting in difficulty falling asleep.
Parents should try to spend as much time with their children as possible, pay attention to their children, fully interact and communicate with their children, convey their emotions to their children, chat and tell stories after their children, and meet the emotional needs of young children to be loved.
A warm, harmonious family atmosphere is essential for children to get a healthy night's sleep. Parents' encouraging, warm and responsible parenting style, effective communication, maintaining the transmission of love, maintaining emotional stability, establishing a safe parent-child attachment, so that children can gain a sense of security, especially avoiding blame and criticism of young children before going to bed, can reduce the occurrence of sleep problems.
Poor family atmosphere, such as disharmony in parental relationships, disharmony in attachment relationships, child abuse, family conflicts, etc., can lead to sleep problems in children.
7. Children's sleep time needs are less than those of their peers
There are large differences in the amount of sleep that each person needs, including infants and toddlers, and some toddlers will need less sleep than children of the same age, and caregivers may need to adjust the time to fall asleep despite their efforts. How do you know if you're getting enough sleep?It should be combined with the question "How long do you usually sleep before you feel rested?".to make a comprehensive judgment.
Waking up on time in the morning (without an alarm or a parent wakes up) means that you have had enough sleep. Therefore, let your child sleep in the morning for three days (such as during holidays) and wake up naturally, and monitor his sleep time and mood, and then record it, usually after 3 days, it is often the child's own sleep needs.
8. Excessive fatigue
Toddlers who are overtired are more likely to be irritable, cry and have difficulty falling asleep.
Caregivers can keep a diary to keep track of their child's routine, start falling asleep before the child gets tired, and avoid being awake for too long and causing the child to be overtired. It can also be observed by observing the behavior of young children in the evening or evening, if there are abnormal manifestations such as irritability, poor mood, short temper, hyperactivity, etc., this may be a sign that the child has been awake for too long or has not had enough sleep.
Newborns wake up 1-2 hours every 3-4 hours;At 4 months, you can wake up for 3-4 hours, and with age, the daytime sleep time is shortened, and the awakening time is prolonged, reaching more than 5 hours.
9. Environmental factors
The environment is too noisy, the room temperature is too high, the quilt is too much, the lights are too bright, and other bad sleeping environments will cause some interference to the baby's sleep.
10. Other reasons
Secondhand smoke has an important impact on the sleep quality of infants and young children. It can lead to various sleep problems, such as: difficulty falling asleep, easy to wake up at night, easy to insomnia, lack of sleep, early awakening, daytime sleepiness, etc.
In addition, if there are some neurological diseases, such as food allergies, gastroesophageal reflux, otitis media, respiratory or digestive diseases, autism, etc., it may also cause this condition, so it is necessary to evaluate and individualize under the guidance of a doctor**.
Note: The medical section of this article is for reference only. If you feel unwell, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately, subject to offline medical diagnosis and **. (The material comes from the Internet, and the infringement will be deleted immediately).
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