Insomnia in children, a problem of bad sleeping habits
Sleep It is a very important key for all people. In the case of children this need becomes more evident. After a hard day of school and homework, among many other possible activities, children go to bed in search of good rest.
But, what if, at nightfall, the little ones in the house are not able to sleep? The insomnia It is one of the worst situations that can happen, not reaching the desired rest and not recharging the batteries is something that ends up ballasting the work in each day. However, in many cases this can be reversed with good habits before going to bed and taking care of sleep hygiene as indicated by the Sleep Pathology Unit of the University Hospital Ntra. Sra. De Candelaria, in the Canary Islands.
Watch before going to bed
This unit serves the year around 150 children at the end of the year they present sleep problems. The experts of this center list as the first conditions of rest in minors the following: insomnia, night terrors, sleepwalking, sominiloquies, snoring, bruxism or nocturnal enuresis.
As for insomnia, these experts explain that a 30% of the cases of this problem of rest is due to bad habits before going to bed. That is, poor sleep hygiene, which can be reversed by attending to what the child does at night. These experts recommend that parents monitor the behavior of their children to detect these situations.
Irritability, hyperactivity, bad mood in the morning and a face of few friends are some Signs who can warn that the child does not rest well. It will be then when we will have to see what the child does before going to sleep: if he watches television, if he spends time in front of the computer or what food he takes before going to bed.
Take care of sleep hygiene
These are some tips with which to take care of sleep hygiene in the smallest and ensure that every day has a restful sleep:
- Practice exercise. The moderate aerobic exercise is the one that provides the greatest benefits. A system that allows us to free ourselves from stress and daily worries. Therefore, it is essential that we perform some activity with which we feel comfortable and full as walking, riding a bicycle, dancing ...
- Have a good rest area. Our place of rest must be an oasis of peace that allows us a total disconnection. We have to avoid mobile, portable external stimuli and any electronic device to avoid technological insomnia.
- Schedules and routine. Our body needs a set schedule and try to go to bed at the same time, as much as possible. This will make it easier for the organism to enter a state of ideal relaxation to sleep and wake up comforted.
- Tranquility. Conflicts are not good in, but less so in our life, but even less so in order to sleep. Avoid conflicts and bad thoughts before going to sleep, do not think of anything negative and take a break during that moment.
- Avoid reading and watching television. The place of rest should only be associated with sleep, so we should try to perform other types of activities at another time and place.
Damián Montero
