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Sleep is a key element in children’s healthy development. While they sleep, little ones rest, grow and consolidate their daytime experiences. Bedtime must therefore remain an inviolable fixed point: no matter what happens, little ones must get enough and good sleep. A proper sleeping pattern is therefore crucial for their well-being and influences their growth, learning, and overall health. In addition, a child’s regular sleep will benefit the whole family by promoting the physical and mental health of parents.
The Importance of Sleep for Child Development (from the WebMD website)
According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children’s recommended hours of sleep vary by age:
Preschool Children (3-5 years): 10-13 hours per day, including naps.
School Age Children (6-12 years): 9-12 hours per day.
In fact, sleeping contributes to children’s cognitive and physical progress:
Cognitive Development: While sleeping, the brain processes and organizes learned information, facilitating learning and memorization.
Physical Growth: Peak growth hormone production occurs during deep sleep, which is essential for physical growth.
Emotional Balance: An adequate amount of sleep helps maintain emotional balance, reducing irritability and improving stress management.
Compared to a hundred years ago, children in the Western world sleep an average of 2 hours less. In a survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), researchers found that more than two out of three children aged 10 and under had some type of sleep problem.
This therefore takes its toll. Analyzing the sleep patterns of 510 children, ranging in age from 2 to 5 years, a team of researchers at Northwestern University Medical Center found a correlation between reduced sleep hours and increased behavioral problems during the day. They also found that lack of nighttime sleep was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms and anxiety disorders.
The main sleep disorders and common mistakes to avoid for peaceful sleep:
Sleep disorders in children can be divided into two main categories. The first category includes dyssonias, which involve challenges related to the initiation and maintenance of sleep. These may manifest as difficulty falling asleep, borderline sleep disturbance, inadequate sleep hygiene, poor sleep syndrome, snoring, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
The second category of sleep disorders are parasomnias, which are characterized by abnormal experiences during sleep. These include sleepwalking, night terrors, nightmares, and rhythmic movement disorders, such as head banging or rocking.
Addressing sleep problems in children requires a thorough understanding of the specific causes and the adoption of targeted strategies. Here are some mistakes parents should not make, according to the Italian Society of Pediatrics:
Don’t set a shared routine: Children don’t have a clear concept of time. We can help them have reference points that allow them to feel more in control. The first thing that can be “built” and set together at any age is a routine or ritual. We can then let them choose certain details: for example, the order in which they prefer to carry out the various stages (teeth first or pajamas first? bedtime story or listening to soothing music?).
Unfavorable Sleep Environment: An uncomfortable, bright or noisy bedroom can disrupt peaceful sleep. Ensuring a suitable environment is essential. One expedient may be to keep a soft pet light on.
Excessive exposure to electronic screens: Allowing children to use electronic devices just before bedtime can interfere with melatonin production and disrupt nighttime sleep. Always best to consider that at least an hour before bedtime, there should be no screens on.
Lack of physical activity during the day: Not encouraging enough physical activities during the day can reduce physical fatigue, hindering sleep at night.
Ignoring anxiety or stress: Not openly addressing anxiety or stress in children can contribute to nighttime restlessness. At whatever age children are, they need their parents to release tension and recharge. Often our days are always hectic, so much so that we put multiple urges (bills, dinners, laundry) in front of being together with children. On the contrary, children need to receive their parents’ attention, to be listened to, in order to be able to accept being separated from them again during the night.
Do not promote adequate relaxation: an unrelaxing atmosphere, too loud a parent’s tone of voice, energetic games before bedtime do not entice children to go to bed. Instead, it is helpful to incorporate relaxing practices, such as reading stories or listening to music with soothing melodies.
Not meeting sleep recommendations by age: Not adjusting bedtime and time of sleeping according to age can compromise the quality of sleep at night.
Lack of medical advice: Ignoring persistent sleep problems without consulting a doctor can delay the diagnosis of any sleep disorders or underlying medical conditions.
Benefits of Music on Children’s Sleep:
Music can play a significant role in facilitating more peaceful and deeper sleep, contributing to the overall well-being of young children. Below we explore the benefits of music on children’s sleep while also offering practical advice on how to integrate it appropriately into their nighttime routines.
Inducing relaxation is one of music’s main contributions to infant sleep. Calming and soothing melodies can help children reduce anxiety and calm down before bedtime, creating an environment conducive to a restful night’s sleep. In fact, stabilizing the heart and breathing rhythm is an added benefit, for more regular and deeper sleep.
Integrating music into the sleep routine will signal to children’s brains that it is time to relax and prepare for bedtime. At the same time, music can act as an effective distraction from unwanted environmental noises that might disturb their sleep, such as road traffic or sounds from other rooms.
To make the musical experience even more therapeutic, it is important to choose appropriate music, opting for soothing melodies without overly fast rhythms or stimulating lyrics. Classical music, lullabies, nature sounds, pink and white noises, etc. can be very helpful. Also, creating a dedicated playlist for bedtime can make the process more predictable for children, helping to establish a positive association with sleep time.
However, it is important to limit the duration of playback to prevent children from being completely dependent on the constant presence of music during the night. In this regard, the use of appropriate devices, such as music players with adjustable volume settings and automatic timers, ensures a safe and appropriate sound experience. Finally, involving children in the choice of music, especially for the older ones, can foster a sense of control and make the whole process more enjoyable.
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“Colored” Noises: magical allies for children’s sleep:
It may seem strange, but even noises or sounds have a color that represents them depending on the energy of the sound signal and how the energy is distributed over various frequencies and with what speed. And it is precisely according to what they evoke that certain colored sounds can positively influence sleep quality. In support of this thesis, there are a number of studies and research showing that colored sounds facilitate restful sleep to the point of even counteracting forms of anxiety and sleep problems in infants. The most studied of these sounds are white, pink and brown colored sounds.
Pink noise for example represents a selection of low-frequency sounds that can relax babies and promote peaceful sleep. This kind of sound is particularly beneficial for infants, who, after nine months in a uterine environment full of noises such as heartbeats, gastro-intestinal movements, and familiar voices, may feel uncomfortable in too quiet environments.
Several studies have highlighted the benefits of sleep accompanied by pink noises. In a study published in Neuron in 2013, researchers synchronized pink noise with participants’ brain waves, accentuating its presence during deep sleep. This led not only to longer sleep, but also to enhanced memory. The subjects studied were able to remember almost twice as many words as those who slept in silence.
The sounds included in pink noises, such as wind, waves, waterfalls, rain, quiet conversations, heartbeats, and moving tree branches, possess lower frequencies of higher power. While pink noise exists in nature and is characterized by a deeper, more musical quality, white noise covers all frequencies audible to the human ear evenly and is more like a steady hiss or hum.
The effectiveness of white noise in promoting sleep is related to the concept of sound masking. In essence, these uniform sounds can cover or “mask” unwanted environmental noises, creating a constant, relaxing sound environment that facilitates sleep. It includes a full range of sounds, from television static to a hair dryer, from the hum of a car, such as a radiator or air conditioner, to the internal noise inside a train car.
White noise is often used to calm infants during colicky episodes or to facilitate sleep by replicating the auditory experience of the fetus in utero.
Finally, brown noise would facilitate restful sleep, although more suitable for adults. This is a sound conceptually similar to pink but much deeper and with higher frequencies. It is the one associated with powerful events in nature such as thunder in the distance, the rushing flow of water from a river or waterfall. Brown noise would promote sleep, counteract insomnia especially in the presence of tinnitus to the point of facilitating cognitive performance.
Beware, however, as with all noises, these “colored” noises should not be chronic. Continuous stimulation, especially at high volume, can potentially cause hearing problems and delays in language development in children.
At the same time, not everyone relaxes with these sounds; in fact, there can be effects exactly opposite to relaxation. It all depends on personal predisposition.
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