Debunking some childhood sleep myths

BarcelonaSleeping well is essential, as sleep allows the body and mind to recover and function correctly. In the case of children, sleep takes on even greater importance because it is key to their knowledge and cognitive development. As explained at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital's Health School, babies and children need deep and restorative sleep to process what they have learned during the day, consolidate memory, and develop their motor and emotional skills. In adolescence, the hormonal changes typical of this stage can make it difficult for them to maintain adequate sleep schedules, which can have consequences on their mood and academic performance.

From the moment a baby is born, sleep is always a source of concern for families. The Sant Joan de Déu Health School has compiled some of the most popular myths about children's sleep to help families discern what is true and what is not. We reproduce them below:

Myth 1: it is not normal for them not to sleep through the night

Waking up is normal but we often don't remember it and mistakenly think we've slept through the night, yet both children and adults wake up during the night. It's a survival mechanism that we mammals have, according to neurophysiologist Ainhoa Álvarez Ruiz de Larringa, in an article in the Sant Joan de Déu School of Health.

Myth 2: if you get tired during the day, you will sleep better

Being very active during the day does help with sleep, but not tiredness as such. In fact, being very tired makes it harder to fall asleep. This professional warns that doing a lot of physical exercise at the end of the day activates us and can make it harder for us to fall asleep. Regarding snoring, it is a sign of obstruction and not a signal that one is having deep sleep.

Myth 3: if you give him a bottle full of cereal, he will sleep better

Drinking milk has always been associated with bedtime, as perhaps due to its high tryptophan content, it can induce sleep, according to the Escola de Salut de Sant Joan de Déu. But they also add that there is no study that assures that adding cereals to milk produces more restful sleep. Furthermore, eating a lot before going to sleep does not help to have a good rest and in children, offering an extra bottle with cereals will not improve rest either, but rather can cause overweight problems, they warn.

Myth 4: if you don't take a nap, you will sleep better at night

This professional explains that children's brains are programmed to nap. If they don't nap, the child becomes hyperactive to endure the rest of the day, and this can lead to the child sleeping worse at night or having difficulty falling asleep because tiredness is not synonymous with sleeping more. But if the nap is taken shortly before bedtime at night, then it can indeed interfere. Experts recommend napping, at least until the age of 5, but not late in the afternoon.

Myth 5: sleeping little on weekends is not a problem

Teenagers wake up early on weekdays to go to class and most are sleep-deprived because their bodies ask them to sleep more, so on weekends they try to catch up on lost sleep and wake up later. The problem, warn those from the School of Health, is that on Sundays they have trouble sleeping and start the week already with a sleep deficit.

Healthy sleep habits

As they get older, it is also important to maintain good sleep hygiene. 17% of children attend school sleepy and 4% fall asleep in class, according to data from the FAROS Report. In the case of adolescents, 52% confess that they attend class having slept less than eight hours, and 84% have difficulty getting up, which hinders their academic performance.

Irritability, bad mood, depression, tiredness, headache, lower ability to defend against diseases, or lack of concentration are just some of the long list of consequences that minors can suffer from not getting enough sleep. But sleep hours vary depending on the age of the minor. A baby should sleep between 14 and 18 hours depending on the months of life, including naps, up to 12 years old there should be between 9 and 12 hours of daily sleep, and from 13 to 18 years old, 8 to 10 hours.

Good eating habits, daily physical activity, regular times for waking up and going to bed, or establishing relaxing routines before sleep help to have a restorative rest.