Sleep Deprivation and Behavior

SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND BEHAVIOR

Sleep deprivation interferes with our ability to function well. This is especially true for children. When children are sleepy, they often become overly active. Some children can be mistaken for being hyperactive when they habitually lack enough sleep. This decreases the ability to concentrate, relax, think clearly, etc. for children including children with ADD/ADHD. Read about the ADD connection in a review of the following book.

Remmy and the Brain Train: Traveling Through the Land of Good Sleep
James B. Maas, Guy Danella (Illustrator), Suzanne Scheniman
Recommended by Ken Blanchard, Author of The One Minute Manager, and by Stephen J. Ceci, the Helen Carr Chaired Professor of Developmental Psychology at Cornell University
A customer at Amazon.com wrote the following review. "A young boy could not calm down during school. His parents took him in to his doctor, who quickly diagnosed him with ADD. Before going to meds, his parents wanted to explore other options. The boy's teacher suggested reading Remmy and the Brain Train to him every night before bed. Within ONE WEEK, his behavior toned down, and he was just fine during classes. Coincidence? Hardly. Sometimes getting a proper night's rest is all our kids need. This book is worth it's weight in gold, especially considering you get a CD along with it. Great for all kids for help sleeping through the night and getting the proper amount of much needed rest."

For many years, it has been suggested that elementary school children should be in bed by 9:00 p.m. Research and experience still support this. In spite of all the modern changes, our bodies still have the same needs for rest, nourishment, etc.

Especially during the school year, try to keep a regular routine for bedtime.

Provide a good sleeping environment: quite room, comfortable bed, a room with little or no light according to the child's needs, etc.

Avoid letting children go to bed hungry or immediately after eating. Avoid caffeine and sugar several hours before bedtime.

Allow transition time between bedtime and exciting activities. Try to avoid TV shows, books, music, video games, the news, arguments, etc. which are frightening or exciting at bedtime. Transition can include a bath, hearing or reading appropriate bedtime stories, and/or listening to calming music.

"Good night and sweet dreams." That's a phrase which parents often use. Let's help those dreams be sweet. Here are some good children's bedtime books.

The Sleep Ponies
Gudrun Ongman
The poetic prose and charming illustrations make this a book for all ages.

A Child's Garden of Verses
Robert Louis Stevenson
You'll find many favorites such as "The Swing" which begins with these lines. "How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child can do!"

Go to Sleep, Baby Child: 62 Favorite Lullabies to Soothe Your Baby
Music hath charm.... Find many of your favorites in this book which has an audio CD, journal pages to personalize, plus an introduction about lullabies, their meanings, and lyrics.

Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance
James B. Maas
Chapters include tips for parents, office workers, travelers, shift workers, people with sleep disorders, etc. Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager, made this statement at Amazon.com about the book. "A revolutionary and powerful approach to success in the workplace. Jim Maas's guide will help you achieve peak performance when everyone else is asleep at the switch."

Sleep Better! A Guide to Improving Sleep for Children With Special Needs
Vincent Mark Durand
This book has 21 sample pages at Amazon.com. The author presents different methods for improving sleep. He gives the pros and cons of each.

National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (a part of the National Institutes of Health) They also have an educational campaign featuring Garfield to help kids get enough sleep.

Sleep Deprivation: Children's Health from My Healthy Advantage. This has an interesting article with a chart about average sleep requirements at different ages.