Denver Children’s Photographer | When The Kids Can’t Sleep
Something anyone who works with eventually starts noticing is that you won't hear from me before noon. Often my emails will hit your inbox at about 2AM...and if you do see an email from me at 6AM it's definitely because I haven't gone to bed for the previous night yet.
That's because I have a super fun (not) sleep disorder called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. Which is a fancy name for a circadian rhythm disorder, which is a fancy name for saying I'm genetically a night owl. My entire life falling asleep at an appropriate time has been difficult on a good day and impossible the rest of the time. My body's natural schedule wants me to fall asleep around 7AM and wake up for the day around 3PM. Fortunately I'm able to move that back by a few hours- but no more than that (there's currently no cure and very little treatment available for DSPS.) Double fortunately I found a calling that allows me to work hours that are natural for my body- yay photography!
Things would have been a little easier had I had a name for this obnoxious affliction when I was younger. So I wanted to take a minute today to give ya'll some information on sleep in kids- we all know that a tired kid is a craaaanky kid and nobody enjoys that haha!
How much sleep should your kiddo be getting?
1-4 weeks old- 16-17 hours a day with periods of wakefulness lasting 1-3 hours. Most newborns have not developed a night/day sleep cycle, so their periods of sleep and wakefulness can vary to all hours of the day. Which basically means- sleep any chance you get 'cause that little one is controlling your sleep schedule for a while!
1-4 months old- Sometime during this period most baby's night/day sleep cycles begin to kick in, with them sleeping longer at night, although they still wake for feedings and changes. We realized we had an issue with my little girl when at 5 months she was waking EVERY HOUR. Yeah. That was fun. We finally realized she had an ear infection with no other major symptoms- once that was cleared up I was finally getting 4 hour stretches of sweet blissful sleep.
4 months-1 year- Babies of this age still require between 14-15 hours of sleep everday. However, many of them are able to sleep through most of the night, and take up to 3 naps during the day and evening. This is the time when establishing a set sleep pattern can really benefit your little!
1-3 years- Most toddlers need about 12-14 hours of sleep. They will more than likely lose their early morning nap and early evening nap and tend to only take one nap a day.
3-6 years- Approximately 11-12 hours of sleep. Younger children of this group may still require a short nap during the day, but the need to nap usually diminishes by the time they enter the first grade.
7-12 years- Children of these age groups tend to need about 10-12 hours of nightly sleep.
13-18 years- Teens of this age require about 8-10 hours of sleep, but rarely get the full amount they need. Don't even get me started about the multitude of studies done about school start time and how awful they are for teens >.<
Sleep disorders usually manifest in childhood and adolescence- mine was pretty established by 7 years old when I would regularly lay in bed awake until long after my parents had gone to bed.
The most common types of sleep disorders in kids are;
Sleep-related breathing disorders: most common symptoms are snoring, gasping for breath in sleep- and often hyperactivity during the day
Sleep-related movement disorders: if your child tends to move a lot during sleep or regularly jerks their limbs you might look into this
Insomnia: difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep.
Parasomnia: Common symptoms include nightmares, night terrors, sleep walking, and bed wetting.
I really hope this helps anyone who's having sleep issues with their kiddos- or themselves...you don't realize how much you need it until you're not getting it!
