Are you suffering from behavioural insomnia? If yes, then you might want to read this article. This condition is characterized by persistent sleep problems such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, frequent night awakenings, and poor sleep quality.
Behavioural insomnia of childhood (BIC) is defined as chronic sleep disturbance in children who exhibit normal development and no other medical conditions that would explain their symptoms.
BIC is often associated with anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
There are several types of insomnia (acute insomnia), and each style has its characteristics. To treat insomnia effectively, doctors should consider the underlying causes of the problem.
Different Types of Behavioural insomnia of Children
Sleep onset association type: Children, especially those under the age of two, have difficulty falling asleep on their own or going back to sleep if they wake up unless there are specific circumstances at bedtime.
They may be utilized to have their favourite toy near them, be rocked to sleep, or have a parent sitting next to them to fall asleep. This process might be pretty complicated for the kid and caregiver/parent.
Limit-setting type: The children's sleeping patterns are disrupted. They may request additional bedtime stories, need another glass of water, or return to the bathroom to postpone going sleepy.
If they wake up while sleeping, they may refuse to return to bed. When children are verbal and capable of getting out of bed, this usually begins at two.
Mixed-type: A bedtime routine is recommended, like going down for a sleep-onset association (SOS) and limit-setting (LIM). The method works better with the combined sleep-onset association and limit-setting types.
Epidemiology
A behavioural epidemiology framework is proposed to describe a systematic succession of research on health-related behaviours and the creation of evidence-based treatments aimed at populations.
The phase is:
- Improved integration of behaviour, health, and development might be achieved by linking them.
- Behaviour analysis measures the frequency and intensity of a particular behaviour
- Determine the person's motives and identify any external factors influencing their behaviour
- Change the behaviour of individuals with substance use disorders by changing their actions
- Transform research into practice.
Researchers conducting research in more mature areas anticipate that there will be more studies in the later phases.
Symptoms of Childhood Insomnia
Children with insomnia(onset insomnia) suffer from the same issues as adults, including difficulty going to sleep, staying asleep, or not feeling refreshed after an average amount of sleeping time. In addition to being tired at school, children with insomnia might exhibit the following symptoms:
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Aggressiveness
- Hyperactivity
- Decreased Attention span
- Memory Problems
Causes of Childhood Insomnia
One of the most common causes of children getting insufficient sleep is going to bed too late.
It is frequently because parents have unrealistic expectations regarding how much sleep their children require or because their kids are over-scheduled and have too many activities and homework.
Or perhaps your youngster is up late texting, chatting on the phone
Remember that children between the ages of 6 and 13 require 9 to 11 hours of sleep each night, whereas teenagers need 8 to 10 hours.
If you establish a reasonable bedtime, but your child is still unable to get a good night's sleep, the following are some of the most common causes of insomnia (maintenance insomnia):
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Caffeine
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Poor Sleep habits
- Stress
- Restless Legs Syndrome
- Neurodevelopmental disorder
- Medications side-effects
Treatment of Behavioural Insomnia in Childhood
The following are some of the techniques for treating behavioural insomnia (chronic insomnia). It will take a collaborative effort from you and others involved in your child's care to succeed with each approach.
Everyone must remain cool, dedicated, and consistent when making these adjustments.
Unmodified extinction:
It is also referred to as the "cry it out" technique. Allow your child to go to sleep on their own once you've completed your bedtime routine.
If your child requests anything more than the usual or begins to cry, you ignore them.
It is critical to ignore your youngster until a set waking hour in the morning unless you think they are sick, hurt, or in danger. Many children will fall asleep on their own after a week.
Even if your kid has overcome undesirable behaviour, the problems may return for a few days, and you will have to deal with them again. It is known as an "extinction burst," which affects one-third of children and happens 5-30 days later.
Graduated extinction:
"Controlled crying or sleep training" is another name for this. After putting your child to bed, leave the room for a set period to assist them in calming down.
To help the kid settle down, ignore their screams for a determined length of time before returning to the bedroom.
You may set a fixed time (for example, every 5 minutes) or a gradually increasing one (for example, every 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 6 minutes) before checking on your child.
Repeat this procedure until your youngster falls asleep on his own.
Extinction with parental presence:
You may also refer to this as "camping out." You stay in the same room but do not lie down with your child when they fall asleep. You don't react to any bad behaviour or the kid's screams.
Bedtime fading:
If your youngster takes longer than 30 minutes to nod off, postpone their bedtime until they fall asleep within 30 minutes of getting in bed.
Once your kid is sleeping for most of the time, they are in bed, gradually move their bedtime forward by 30 minutes until you reach a goal bedroom time.
Positive reinforcement:
Creating a reward system may help to reinforce positive behaviour. For example, provide a sticker to your child the minute they fall asleep on/her own without getting out of bed. You may do this in addition to other above ideas.
Medications
The following medications, when indicated and necessary, are some of the most frequently used:-
Antihistamines, while they typically induce daytime sleepiness and are only used for a limited time,
- Clonidine is a medication that can help with ADHD and behaviour problems by relieving symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness, or inattentiveness. Clonidine also treats high blood pressure and heart rhythm disorders such as long QT syndrome. If your kid has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Melatonin
- Risperidone (risperidone) is an FDA-approved drug for children with autism or behaviour problems.
- Elavil (amitriptyline) and Remeron (mirtazapine) are sedating antidepressants.
Tips for parents to deal with Childhood Insomnia
Talk to your child
Chatting with a youngster about sleep difficulties is an excellent starting point. Parents should first figure out what's going on with their kids. LLet's assume they're nervous.
It was possibly school, quarrels with friends, or being away from their parents before the coronavirus. Is it now the crisis itself?
Is it a worry that they will become sick or that their family members will? Knowing these things can assist you in assisting your children.
Validate fears, and encourage bravery.
The goal is to sympathize with and validate the child's anxiety. Begin by saying, "I understand you're feeling scared, and that's a terrible feeling," and then encourage them to be brave.
So, a parent may say they understand it might be frightening for their kid to sleep in their room.
Let them know how confident you are that they will succeed.
Sleep training
You can employ behavioural techniques to assist your sleep-deprived kid in moving towards sleeping independently once you know what's going on.
We're not talking about the type of sleep training that babies use, but rather one for older children that gradually moves them farther away from the kid.
“You can't suddenly expect your child to want for nothing and go from sleeping in their room to sleeping alone,” advises Dr Karpman. “It will take time and patience.”
“When you first move a kid out of their crib, they're going to scream until they are ready to sleep on
Finally, your objective is to reach the point where you can enter the room and say good night without worrying about them waking up.
It's fine to have a sleep routine in which the parent comes in and reads a story to a younger child or hugs an older one, but the kid shouldn't be reliant on you to go asleep.
Create a routine
From brushing teeth to lights out and wake up time, establishing a consistent and predictable routine for your kids will assist everyone — parents and children alike.
As the kid completes each stage, they may be rewarded by seeing their progress on the chart, allowing them to see how far they've come.
The parents can also use charts to keep track of the children's progress and notice any trends. "If a parent notices, 'My kid seems to be having a harder time on Sunday than they do on Friday,' it tells us something."
As a result, collecting data like this might be beneficial in targeting specific remedies.
Minimize dependence, reward bravery
Some children get into the custom of falling asleep on their own and then waking up in the middle of the night to go to their parent's room. "It's a secure space for them," explains one parent.
When this happens, the most significant thing you can do is rush them back to bed as soon as possible.
"We don't want to encourage this connection and make the kid more inclined to come in every night, so we'll reduce the amount of pleasure they're receiving from their parent's bedroom.
A reward system for their bravery may be implemented here as well."
Instil good sleep hygiene
There are several methods to establish an atmosphere that promotes sleep. Our bodies should be trained to go to sleep and wake up simultaneously each day, according to the aim.
Here are some strategies for achieving a night's sleep:
- A calming, warm bath. "It is beneficial to take a hot bath one to two hours before bedtime because it "causes you to feel drowsy."
- Meditation and relaxation techniques. Meditation applications are designed mainly for sleep, with different age ranges. Music and a mentoring voice aid children relax, from a "body scan," during which you relax your body, starting at the feet, to breathing and visualization.
- No exercise right before bed. Exercising causes your body temperature to rise, which disrupts sleep.
- Make the bed for sleep only. Use the bed only for sleeping, not as a study area, eating, or TV viewing. "We want to teach our bodies to associate the bedroom with sleep and bedtime.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, there are many ways to help children sleep better.
However, if you find yourself struggling to manage your child's sleep issues, it could mean that you need professional help.
If you think your child has behavioural insomnia in childhood, contact your doctor immediately. They can provide advice and treatment options based on your child's needs.
