Many of us are sleep deprived these days including our children. One of the common culprits of too little sleep and often disrupted sleep is television.
A recent study found that sleep problems were more common in 3 to 5 year olds who watched more television after 7pm. According to the study, about 20 percent of the 112 children involved had sleep problems almost every day of the week. Their issues included difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, nightmares and being sleepy during the day. The children who watched violent television at night had the most sleep problems.
Previous studies have also noted that a TV in the bedroom for children is associated with difficulty falling asleep, delayed bedtimes and decreased overall sleep. It is estimated that 20-40 percent of US preschool children have a TV in their room.
Many parents site the reason they put a TV in their child’s room was to help them fall asleep. However, more soothing bedtime routines such as singing, reading or cuddling lead to a better night’s sleep. A bedroom environment should be cool, quiet and ideally dark although a nightlight is fine. For a preschooler, a bedtime around 7 to 9 pm with a consistent bedtime routine tends to be the most appropriate so that enough time is allowed to awaken in the morning for school or daycare activities. The recommended total amount of sleep (including naps) is around 10 to 12 hours.
So, turn off the TV and take it out of the bedroom. Cuddle up with your kids and a good book before bed and have sweet dreams and healthier children.
Thanks for this information. My 4 yo child wakes up in the middle of the night 4-6 nights a week on a regular basis and has been doing this for about 4-6 months now. He rarely watched tv before bed and we do a bedtime routine religiously that includes reading, songs and cuddling. We added a sort of bright nightlight to his room which seemed to help for awhile and definitely is better than when it was darker. He often seems scared from a dream or just seems half asleep and crying. He goes back to bed easily if we get up and tuck him back in but we have been trying not to do this and teach him how to tuck himself in if he isn’t too upset from a dream or such. Any suggestions.
The nighttime awakening that you are describing could be a form of night terrors which can occur when a child awakens out of deep sleep and is not aware of their surroundings. However, if he seems more awake then it may be more a nightmare. Either way these are normal events during sleep. Why this may have started occurring could be a change in total amount of sleep. If he stopped napping recently or has a later bedtime can lead to a decrease in his total amount of sleep during a day. Less sleep or being sleep deprived can lead to increased nighttime awakenings. I would initially recommend trying an earlier bedtime by about 15 minutes. The other recommendation would be reassurance to him. This may have become more of a habit since it has been going on for some time. A final thought is thinking of a type of reward chart that if he doesn’t awaken in the night or tucks himself back in a bed he gets a small prize in the morning (like a sticker, etc.) A good resource if there is more going on than what I have addressed is a book called What to Do When You Dread Your Bed by Dawn Huebner and Bonnie Matthews which is a fun workbook type resource that addresses many other aspects of bedtime problems in younger children.
Cami Matthews, MD