Sleep in Children and Adolescents Kristina Azubalyte - Educational Psychology Assistant Ailsa Darling - Trainee Educational Psychologist September 2018

Overview What is sleep and why do we need it? How is sleep different between children and adults? Adolescent sleep Effects on psychological, emotional and physical wellbeing When sleep goes wrong What affects quality of sleep? How to get a good night’s sleep?

What is sleep? Sleep is: Lack of sleep affects our: Natural behaviour Reversible state of reduced awareness Dynamic Lack of sleep affects our: Emotional wellbeing Physical health Productivity

How much sleep do we actually need?

Hypnogram

What is so important about sleep? While our bodies are at rest, our brains continue working at: Memory consolidation Vocabulary retention Processing of learning related to pronunciation of words Retention of auditory memories Research has linked lack of sleep to: Lower marks achieved Lower attention rates Tendency to remember more negative than positive events

Pronunciation Vocabulary retention Auditory memories Memory consolidation Auditory memories Pronunciation Vocabulary retention

Sleep and body Our bodies release a cocktail of hormones during sleep. One of the most important ones is the growth hormone. It is crucial for a number of functions occurring in human body. Allowing these processes to take place helps us avoid such conditions as obesity, diabetes and heart conditions.

Dreams and creativity Dreams may serve as a source for creative work. Many musicians, writers, artists and scientists have been inspired by their dreams.

Sleep and emotional wellbeing Sleep helps us to deal with: Crisis Stress Anxiety Cortisol – is also known as ‘stress’ hormone due to its role in the fight or flight response. Melatonin – sleep hormone. During sleep cortisol drops to its lowest levels. This allows the brain to process information and recover from high levels of stress. Sleep deprivation can increase levels of cortisol. Chronic stress is closely related to lack of sleep.

Circadian rhythm Our body clock is affected by external factors which in turn affect our internal rhythm. These external cues are called zeitgebers: Light Temperature Meal times Social activities Light receptors are especially sensitive and give brain information about the length of day and night. This information informs the brain when to start or stop the production of melatonin and cortisol. During adolescence the body clock can shift approximately 2 hours later. This shift continues until early 20’s. This means that teenagers are more likely to be: More active in the evening Predisposed to go to bed later than younger siblings or parents.

Lack of sleep can lead to… Impaired learning Lower marks Lower attention rates A negative impact on learning Impaired mood Irritability Depression Behavioural problems Obesity and heart problems at older age Poor impulse control Disruption to the body clock can result in a jet lag effect. Late bedtime Cumulative sleep debt Sleep late on weekends Reinforces circadian delay Difficulty initiating sleep Sleep restricted during school week Impaired daytime alertness Afternoon napping Vicious cycle of lack of sleep

What affects quality of sleep?

Technology in the bedroom

Sleep quality Staying up later to watch TV or play computer games Late night chats and messaging with friends Studying later in the evening, before going to bed Continuous stimulation prevents us feeling sleepy Blue light emitted by screens prevents production of melatonin

How to help your children sleep better? During the day encourage them to: Have a shower in the morning to help them wake up Get out into natural light for at least 30 minutes per day Play active games or exercise during the day Avoid too many sugary and caffeinated drinks Avoid having a nap during the day If a ‘power’ nap is needed, stick to a short 30-45 minutes nap before 5PM. Try not to have a lie-in at weekends. Try to keep the wake and sleep time at similar hours throughout the week. Try to find ways of dealing with anxiety and worries before bedtime (talk to someone, write a diary or try relaxation techniques)

In the evening: Develop a good sleep routine, include some relaxing activities e.g. reading, listening to music, light stretching or a warm bath (no later than 90 minutes before bedtime) Have dinner earlier in the evening and a light snack later Do any stimulating activities (exercise, watching TV, playing computer games etc.) earlier in the evening. Try to get any homework out of the way as early as possible Switch off any blue light emitting devices at least 1 hour before bedtime or use red filter app if this is not possible If they cannot fall asleep and toss and turn, it is better for them to get out of bed and do some low stimulation activity for about 20 minutes

The hour before bed This is when our body starts to wind down and release melatonin Switch off technology Use subdued lighting Read or listen to relaxing music Use relaxation apps e.g. Headspace Stick to the same bed time

The bedroom Keep the bedroom quiet, tidy, dark and cool. Make sure the bed is comfortable. Discourage spending time in bed doing other activities (e.g. reading, watching DVDs, playing computer games) as this stops us relating bed to relaxing and sleeping. Do not use bright light. Some of the energy saving light bulbs use blue light. Keep laptops, iPads, game consoles in a different room or pack them away before bedtime. Avoid a very loud alarm or use a setting that gradually increases the volume.

What you can do to support good sleep habits ? Try to Provide information so your child can manage their sleep and make positive choices Nurture good habits Keeping a sleep diary for at least a week could help notice any strategies that work better and what is going wrong. Give consistent messages about the importance of sleep and its importance to our wellbeing and role in memory consolidation Change can only occur if the young person is willing to make changes

What’s already going well? Barriers What’s a challenge ? Listen to the person, listen for the possibilities Strengths What’s already going well? There’s always exceptions to the problem Everyone has the necessary resources to make changes Goals Long and Short Term Focusing on the future can enhance change Small changes lead to bigger change , If it works do more of it if it doesn’t do something different Change has to be manageable Actions Who, What, When Everyone has their own way of solving problems No sign up, no change

What’s already going well? Barriers What’s a challenge ? Body clock has shifted forward an hour at this age Really tired after school a need a nap Only getting 6/7 hours sleep a night Strengths What’s already going well? Having a shower in the morning Getting out in natural light for 30mins a day Doesn’t drink caffeinated drinks Goals Long and Short Term To have a better bedtime routine To get 7/8 hours sleep a night Actions Who, What, When Have only ‘power naps’ keeping to 35-40 minutes Listen to an audiobook or a podcast with the lights off Talk through any issues that may be causing stress before going to bed

Video Clip http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=support+not+solution+modern+family+site%3ayoutube.com&adlt=strict&qpvt=support+not+solution+modern+family+site%3ayoutube.com&view=detail&mid=EEB28C26B9908F01714BEEB28C26B9908F01714B&FORM=VRDGAR

Solution Oriented Questions Acknowledge their perspective Try not to suggest what they should be doing but support them to consider solutions ‘ What changes do you think you could make?’ ‘ What is a manageable change for you?’ ‘When do you find you are less tired’

Group discussion One thing that already works for your family One thing you might try after today’s session

Any further Questions Ailsa.Darling@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk Kristina.Azubalyte@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk