Hands up if you’re tired? Bone achingly tired? So tired that you could sleep for a year and still be tired?
You know that phenomenon where you have 11 hours of sleep in a night, and it has the reverse effect of making you *more* tired instead of refreshed?
Yeah, me neither. [cue eyeroll]
I hear you. Sleep problems and Neurodivergent kids go together like Vegemite and toast. One can’t seem to exist without the other.
Okay, so maybe in the Time Before Kids [TBK] I may have experienced this, but I really hope that I didn’t say it in hearing distance of a poor sleep-deprived parent.
I remember one morning when a gorgeously fresh-faced 20-something colleague strolled in complaining that they were soooooo tired. The reason – they had had too much sleep.
TOO MUCH SLEEP!!!!
And to any parents that I inadvertently offended [before I knew better], I apologise with all of my being.
Karma has collected well and truly.
Go ahead and gloat. It’s only fair.
Superbrains and sleep issues
Our little superbrains are hypersensitive to external stimuli so it’s no surprise they have challenges winding down their brains at night. They’re still zinging and zapping.
School stressors, anxiety, stimulant medications, night-time fears, and separation anxiety can all contribute to some of the difficulties experienced.
There is a well-established link in the research literature between poor sleep and poor educational outcomes in children and teens. A vicious cycle can develop where the stress associated with school difficulties can contribute to poor sleep, which in turn worsens the school problems.
So what do you do when it feels like you’ve tried EVERYTHING?
Perth sleep and circardian support for children.
Sue McCabe at Sleep Links, is an occupational therapist who specialises in sleep and circadian science – how cool is that?
She provides practical strategies for all ages with a focus on the unique needs of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. While she is no longer supporting families individually, she’s moved her focus to sharing her knowledge with allied health professionals who do through training courses and resources.
I asked her to share her tips for helping our kiddos to get the rest they need .
Is your child getting good sleep?
Sue says good sleep means being able to:
- go to sleep at the right time, in the right place
- stay asleep for the whole night, in the right place
- wake up at the right time each morning, and
- be awake and alert for the times that we need to.
Optimising your child’s body clock
Ideally allow up to a week before school starts, but at least the weekend before school, to shift the rhythms from ‘summer-holiday’ mode to ‘back-to-school’ mode.
Light is the most powerful cue to our body clocks
- Get a regular morning dose of outdoor bright light
- Avoid late afternoon and evening bright light. (If it’s hard to resist outdoors in the evening, try to wear a hat or sunglasses to reduce the time-shifting effects of light.)
- Keep household and bedroom lights dim before bedtime.
- Avoid the blue light (melatonin blocking) effects of screens before bedtime.
- Have the bedroom as dark as possible for sleep onset and throughout the night (but be aware of the need for soft light if your child is anxious in the dark).
Think about the effects of temperature on our body clocks
We need our bodies to cool down for sleep, and it helps if the bedroom is cool (16C-18C). Check the location and temperature of your child’s bedroom.Think about use of fans, air-conditioning, cooling bedding and clothing to help keep cool on hot nights. A cool (but not icy cold) bath or shower before bedtime can help.
We need our feet and hands to warm up before we go to sleep, so if you are using air-conditioning or an evening swim or bath to cool down, check that your child’s feet are not icey cold at bedtime.
The rhythyms of everyday activities help to set the body clock
The rhythms of everyday activities help to set the body clock. Use these to help set a rhythm for school time sleep patterns. Maybe have dinner a bit earlier, some quiet, chill time after dinner, and a shower or bath in the hour before bedtime.
Anticipating sleep actually helps our body settle and be ready for sleep – and these cues can make a difference.
Good sleep is not just about night times, but day times too
If your child is struggling to stay awake for the whole day, check with the teacher about scheduling a rest or nap in the late morning or early afternoon.
Or schedule that rest for straight after school. It is best to take a scheduled rest or nap, rather than trying to push on through (with your child ‘crashing’ at 5pm, then wide awake from 7pm to midnight!).
Optimise your child’s sleep comfort zone
Think about your child’s sleep setting comfort. It can help to experience what your child feels, sees and hears when they are going to sleep. Turn out the light and lay on your child’s bed around bedtime: feel the feel of the bed, listen to the sounds within and outside the house, see the lights and sights that come from that space. Aim for a sleep setting that is cool, dark and quiet.
Sue recommends checking the following aspects to create a comfortable sleep zone.
Health and medical comfort
Think about your child’s health and medical comfort, and check with your GP or medical specialist if your child has conditions (such as eczema, gut pain, joint pain, growing pains, restless legs) which make it difficult to get to sleep and to stay asleep. Think about the timing and dosage of various medications, and their impact on sleepiness/wakefulness.
Thermal comfort
Think about your child’s thermal comfort, and check that the bedroom, bedcovers, clothing and mattress are just right for your child.
Sensory comfort
Think about your child’s sensory comfort, and consider the use of sounds (white noise, favourite sleepy tunes, the sound of your voice reading stories), touch (pre-sleep massage to calm with, a heavy cuddly toy to snuggle in to, a weighted blanket or stretch sheet to provide calming deep pressure), aromas (sleepy scents such as lavender) and movements (a calming dose of swinging, or rocking on the hammock before bedtime) that your child can associate with being calm and ready for sleep.
Some children are comforted by the sense of being enclosed for sleep, and love to have a canopy or tent or a mosquito net over their bed.
Check your laundry detergent
Check your laundry detergent. Some children can be very sensitive to fragrances … and without being aware of it may be disturbed by the strong smell of their freshly washed pyjamas and bedding. Aim for fragrance-free/sensitive skin detergents and fabric conditioners.
Communication comfort
Think about your child’s communication comfort, and the verbal and non-verbal cues that you can provide (to help your child tune into sleep time) and that your child can use (to let you know about their needs, wants, anxieties, preferences).
Visual schedules, social stories, picture exchange cards, and familiar signs or stories or actions (such as closing the blinds each night) can make a difference.
Emotional comfort
Think about your child’s emotional comfort and the supports that help manage the stresses of transitions. Think about what works best for you, and yourfamily. For example, some people find that it works best to let their child sleep in the same room as parents or siblings during times of transition or stress. For others, this is counter-productive.
Optimise your own body clock and sleep comfort zone
Sue has some wise words for us as parents:
“As much as possible take care of your sleep, rest and wellbeing.
“Think about what really matters to you, and let other things go. Seriously.
“Your child won’t remember what he wore for Book Week in Year 1- but he will remember the feeling of having a parent who has the time and energy to sing a song or provide gentle back tickles at bedtime.”
Sue McCabe, SleepLinks OT
It was during my 20+years working in assistive technology as an occupational therapist that I saw the devastating impact of sleep problems on my clients and their caregivers.
In the clinic setting it was missed appointments (sorry, we've been awake all night), or ill-informed assessments (yeah, whatever, we're too tired to think about this) and the visible effects of poor sleep on pain, attention, memory and engagement.
I was dismayed to realise the gaps in our knowledge and services around this. This led to my MSc and PhD studies into the factors affecting sleep of children with complex neuro-motor conditions, with a focus on sleep & thermoregulation.
With a Churchill Fellowship, I travelled to the UK & Canada to learn from experts in the field. I've stayed connected and continue to collaborate in training & research.
I have recently ceased clinical practice. Now I focus on knowledge sharing with OT and other allied health and sleep research colleagues. I love translating sleep & circadian science through the scope of our person-centred OT lens.
I love the idea of developing a strong, collaborative multi-disciplinary community of sleep knowledge and practice.
