Causes of insomnia in babies

Causes of insomnia in babies

Good habits for a good child rest

Sleep is essential for the proper functioning of our body. While we sleep, important metabolic and hormonal changes take place that are crucial for physical, mental and emotional well-being. What are the causes of insomnia in babies and children? In many families, bedtime for children is a real drama. Parents do not know what to do with a child who resists sleep and wakes up several times during the night. Many of the adults who are insomniac have been insomniac, which is why it is imperative that children learn to sleep alone as soon as possible. If there are no other additional problems, the little one should be able to do it from six months, according to specialists.

Baby irritability from lack of sleep

Rocking him in the crib or in our arms, or letting him sleep in bed with his parents, are not exactly the best solutions for the child to learn to do it as soon as possible. According to Victoria be la Fuente, a psychologist at the Sleep Unit of the Dexeus Institute, if a young child sleeps poorly, during the day he is more irritable, more excited and more dependent on the mother. At school age, lack of sleep has a negative impact on all your activity, as you will have difficulty concentrating and learning.
Spanish children, like adults, sleep less than Europeans. The reasons, for Dr. De la Fuente, are? Cultural, climate and time? We dine later and spend more time on television, for example. This specialist recommends that parents also value the child's extracurricular activities, because too many tasks and activities can take away sleep time, and do they have to respect more hours of rest so that they can assimilate everything they have learned?
Good habits to fall asleep
According to Dr. Eduardo Estivill, director of the Sleep Disorders Unit of the Dexeus Institute in Barcelona and author, together with Sylvia be Béjar, of the book Duérmete, boy, 98% of cases of childhood insomnia are due to erroneous habits, such as not to sleep alone, or to frequent night awakenings, superficial sleep. If a child has not exceeded 5 years insomnia is more likely to suffer from sleep disorders the rest of his life, especially from adolescence.
But, in addition to insomnia, there are another series of disorders that interfere with the quality of sleep, such as nightmares, sleepwalking, night terrors or enuresis (bedweting).

How long should children sleep

Until 6 months: between 17 and 14 hours
From 6 to 18 months: 13 hours and a half
At 2 years: 13 hours
At 3 years: 12 hours
At 4 years: 11 and a half hours
At 5 years: 11 hours
Until 10-11 years: 10-12 hours.
It is not a mathematical rule, some children need fewer hours and others more, without affecting their daily activity.

Baby feeding for better sleep

Foods that promote sleep

• Carbohydrates promote sleep: pasta, rice, legumes, bread, fruit, vegetables.
• Vitamin B 6, nuts, eggs, legumes, spinach.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids: olive oil, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines.

Sleep-altering foods

• Stimulants (caffeinated drinks).
• Desserts and sweets.
• Proteins (meat and fish). It is advisable to take them better during the day.

Educate children's sleep habit
• Always maintain the same meal and rest times.
• Respect a rite at bedtime, such as telling him a story, accompanying him with his favorite toy or doll ?, but not so that he falls asleep, but so that he associates it with a pleasant moment before falling asleep.
• Parents should try to leave the room before the child has fallen asleep.
• If she cries, they should enter at small intervals: the first time after 1 minute of crying, the second time after 3 minutes and so on, without ever being more than 5 minutes. It is not for him to fall asleep, but to give him confidence and see that he has not been abandoned