Weekdays and weekends....

Parents often ask if their child can learn the difference between week days and weekends. This is usually asked because there is some thought that perhaps this little person could learn to sleep longer at the weekend. Unfortunately children don't learn to alter their sleeping pattern depending on the day of the week, until they are teenagers. At that time there are other forces in play.

Routines are very important to children. These are the touchstones of a child's life. Having some certainty that meal times and play times are regular events help the child to understand what the adults expect and desire of them. If we look at our own lives we have some routines which may not be recognised as such, but which make our lives easier because they add to our own understanding of the world.

Yes, children can often recognise that on one or two days of the week parents are not away at work, that there is family time, and that at the weekend the day runs along different lines. They don't know that this is Saturday and Sunday. The basis for a good sleep pattern cannot be adjusted and then readjusted in so short a time frame.

Family time can be positive for those who have difficulties with food refusal or fussiness. At weekends there is usually more time and children who have demonstrated food refusal or fussiness can be involved more in the preparation of foods. There is more time to spend exploring textures and tastes and this can be a positive re enforcement of the enjoyable and sociable aspects of food.

Simple things like teaching a child to spread butter, applestrop, or cheese on bread encourages them to explore texture and taste and encourages a level of independence. Helping to set the table at meal times, to wash the vegetables, and to see how cooking is done and how that changes the food being cooked ,can help develop an interest and make it more acceptable to try a new taste or even experience a familiar one.

If you would like support and advice regarding sleep or fussy eating,
Contact us on;- info@dream-angus.com

Insomnia

Insomnia is defined as a difficulty falling asleep, and/or maintaining sleep and includes early morning awakenings. In many cases this is secondary to another sleep or medical disorder. In contrast Primary Insomnia is accompanied by learned sleep preventing or delaying assocciations and physiological arousal resulting in complaints of sleeplessness and decreased daytime functioning.

To date no studies have been done to look at how often this occurs in children of school age or in adolescents. About 12-13% of adolescents report that they are poor sleepers. This appears to be slightly more common in women than in men. Although there are a number of theories about the causes of insomnia no conclusive evidence supports any particular theory.

It is widely recognised that genetics may play a part and that stress, obsessive thinking styles, poor sleep habits and caffine intake, exacerbate the problem.

Difficulties in falling asleep can be related to medical problems such as asthma, allergies, headaches and physical discomfort. Some medications cause insomnia as a side effect.

Fortunately there are a variety of treatments which are effective without resorting to medication. Research has not been conducted on the long term outcome of insomnia in children and adolescents but certain personality traits make it likely that affected individuals are more likely to experience recurrant problems. The learned nature of this disorder makes it more likely to persist if it is not treated.

If you think this applies to your children contact Dream-Angus for support and advice.

Circadian Rhythm Disturbances

Circadian Rhythm is the internal body clock and it is responsible for ensuring we sleep at night and wake in the day. Within this rythm, there are two well recognised disturbances, which can dramatically affect sleep patterns.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) - This is a disorder that causes the sleep wake cycle to be delayed by 2 or more hours. This means that instead of falling asleep at 10pm and waking at 7am, an affected person will not fall asleep until 12 midnight and then has great difficulty waking at 7am for school or work. Approximately 7% of adolescents are known to have this problem. The cause is unknown but it is definitely not a deliberate behaviour. This syndrome causes other additional problems e.g. school absences and all the known problems associated with sleep deficit.

Early Sleep Phase Syndrome (ESPS) - This is the opposite of DSPS. Children with ESPS wake inappropriately early, e.g. 4am is not unusual. They cannot get back to sleep despite being able to self sooth and settle at a reasonable bedtime.

Both DSPS and ESPS are very difficult to treat because the whole family is affected by the disorders. Therefore the affected individual, and the whole family, have to be involved in, and make considerable effort to follow, a remedial behavioural treatment plan. The treatment plan to remedy these disorders is lengthy.

Duration of Treatment
Having worked to correct the circadian rhythm to a more acceptable state, the patient and family must continue to follow the prescribed course, even after positive results have been established. This means that the family must continue with the plan for the same length of time that it took to establish a positive outcome. e.g. is it took 3 months to correct the problem, it will take a further 3+ months to ensure that the "new" revised circadian rhythm becomes accepted by the body as "normal" for that person.

Setbacks
Deviations from the plan e.g. one late night, or one early morning, during the treatment can cause the body clock and therefore the plan, to require restarting from the beginning. Some children and adolescents who experience these problems are also affected by depression, which may co-exist with behavioural problems and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Detection
There is no definitive test for these disorders. They occur in children and adolescents and rarely occur after 30 years of age. They are recognised from clear history taking and in particularly complex situations may require overnight sleep studies to rule out other disorders.

If you think your child has a problem with circadian rhythm disturbance, contact Dream-Angus.com for advice and support.

The Baby's Song T.Gunn

From the private ease of mother's womb

I fall into a lighted room

Why don't you simply put me back

Where it is warm and wet and black

Padded and jolly I would ride

The perfect comfort of her inside

They tuck me in a rustling bed

I lie there,, raging, small and red.