
30 Sep Children’s Sleep Disorder Indicators
Some.kids can take a little while to settle down before bed, but if this happens to your child on a regular basis, they may have a sleep disorder.
Listed below are common indications of a possible sleep disorder:
- your child lies in bed, calling for another book, song, drink, or trip to the bathroom, for what can seem like hours
- your child only sleeps for about 90 minutes at a time, even at night
- your child complains of itchy legs at night
- your child snores loudly
Here’s how to recognize the signs of a sleep disorder and when you should seek help for your child.
How children sleep
0–3 months
For your little one, sleep is absolutely necessary to growth and development. But so is food and interacting with caregivers. That’s why new babies wake to eat, watch your face or the activity around them, and then fall asleep again.
3–12 months
By 6 months, many babies will sleep through the night, preferring to stay awake for longer periods during the daytime hours. As babies close in on their first birthday, they’re likely to sleep more consistently at night with one or two naps during the day.
Beyond the first birthday
As toddlers, children often take one longer nap a day instead of two shorter naps. By the preschool years, many children begin weaning off their naps entirely.
Sleep Disruptions in children
At nearly every stage of development, a child’s changing body and mind could be causing them to have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Your child may experience separation anxiety and want to cuddle in the middle of the night. They may be learning words and wake with a mind racing to say the name of everything in the crib. Even the urge to stretch their arms and legs could keep them up at night.
Other sleep disruptions can be caused by a particularly exciting or exhausting day that leaves your baby too jittery to sleep soundly. Food and drinks with caffeine may make it hard for your child to get to sleep or to stay asleep.
New surroundings or significant changes to routine may also be disruptive.
Some sleep disruptions are caused by illness, allergies, or conditions like sleep apnea, night terrors, sleepwalking or restless leg syndrome.
Sleep disorders and their symptoms
If your child’s birthday is coming up and they just can’t stop talking about it, that’s a good indication the anticipation is more than they can bear.
Likewise, a nap-free day spent playing could leave your child too wired to fall asleep or stay asleep. Those are temporary disruptions for which you can make the occasional adjustment.
Looking more long-term, your baby may wake during the night and refuse to go back to sleep until you hug or rock them, even as they approach 6 months of age. This means your child likely has not learned to self-soothe at night.
Self-soothing happens when children learn to calm themselves rather than relying on someone else. Teaching a child to self-soothe is not the same as asking your child to “cry it out.”
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is frightening because your child often stops breathing for periods of 10 seconds or more while sleeping. In most cases, your child will have no idea this is happening.
You may also notice that your child snores loudly, sleeps with their mouth open, and is excessively sleepy during the day. If you notice this happening with your child, see your doctor as soon as possible.
Sleep apnea can lead to learning and behavior issues and even heart problems. Make sure to seek help if you notice the signs in your child.
Restless leg syndrome
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) was thought to be an adult problem, but research indicates that it sometimes starts in childhood.
Your child may complain of having “the wiggles,” or the sensation of having a bug crawling on them, and they may change positions in bed frequently to find some relief. Some children don’t actually notice they are uncomfortable, but they experience poor sleep as a result of RLS.
There are a number of treatments for RLS, though many of them haven’t been studied well in children. In adults, these include both vitamin supplements and medication. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.
Night terrors
Night terrors are more than just a nightmare, and they can scare everyone in the family.
More common in children than adults, night terrors cause a person to get up suddenly from sleep appearing intensely scared or agitated and often crying, yelling, and occasionally sleepwalking. Usually they aren’t truly awake, and most children don’t even remember the episode.
Most of the time, night terrors happen during non-REM sleep — about 90 minutes after a child goes to sleep. There’s no treatment for night terrors, but you can help minimize the likelihood that they will happen by sticking to a sleep schedule and keeping nighttime disturbances to a minimum.
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Naturopathy Can Help With the Following Childhood Conditions
Fiona provides tailored health plans based on a multitude of factors relevant to your child’s symptomology (how they are feeling), pathology (how their body is responding), plus dietary and lifestyle factors.
- ✅ Digestive complaints – constipation, diarrhoea, loose stools, pain or bloating
- ✅ Allergies and allergic conditions – such as asthma, eczema or hayfever
- ✅ Poor Immunity – recurring colds or ear infections
- ✅ Skin Conditions – rashes, eczema, acne, pimples or allergic reactions
- ✅ Moods – anxiety, depression or mood swings
- ✅ Food Intolerances – identifying food reactions
- ✅ Food Allergies – identifying food reactions
- ✅ Growth and development issues – fussy eaters or nutritional malabsorption
- ✅ Behavioural challenges – ADHD or others
- ✅ Energy – poor energy or chronic fatigue
- ✅ Picky Eaters – fussy eaters
- ✅ Sleep – trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
What happens in a children’s nutritionist consultation
During your consultation, Fiona will seek information about your pregnancy, birth and post birth experiences. This will provide an integrated view to give a full picture of the foundations of your child’s health status. You can expect to leave your consultation with a thorough understanding of the potential contributing factors of the presenting symptoms. Fiona will provide you with a comprehensive treatment plan that incorporates possible herbal/nutritional medicine, dietary/lifestyle recommendations, recipes and handouts. Plus an overview of the consultation so you feel empowered to care for your child’s wellbeing with Fiona’s guidance. At The Children’s Naturopath, Fiona Stock an expert in childhood health, she understands children’s needs and considers working with kids and teens to be an absolute joy. She finds that children typically respond to naturopathic treatment very well – bouncing back to good health in no time. And she treasures the opportunity she has to teach kids about their bodies and engage them in their health journey, setting them up with strong foundations and knowledge for life.Meet Children’s Nutritionist – Fiona Stock
Fiona is skilled at getting to the heart of childhood health challenges – helping to initiate lasting change.
Fiona Stock is a respected Paediatric Naturopath & Children’s Nutritionist with a career spanning over 23 years. Armed with an abundance of experience and a true desire to transform your child’s health, she’ll listen closely to understand the underlying causes of their troubling condition. Fiona gets to the heart of your child’s presenting symptoms by deciphering what their body is trying to tell you. She will suggest simple and specific changes as well as herbal or nutritional medicine where required to nurture and restore your child, so they can enjoy the good health they deserve. Deeply compassionate and highly skilled, either of the Naturopathic Consultation Options with Fiona is a wonderful investment in your child’s health. If you’ve tried everything and are yet to find solutions to your child’s health challenges – this could well be the path to take.FIONA STOCK | PAEDIATRIC NATUROPATH & CHILDREN’S NUTRITIONIST
- ✅Poor Immunity
- ✅Poor Focus & Concentration
- ✅ Behavioural Problems
- ✅ ADHD
- ✅ Depression
- ✅ Anxiety
- ✅ Food Allergies
- ✅ Food Intolerances
- ✅ Constipation
- ✅ Diarrhoea
- ✅ Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- ✅ Tummy Pain
- ✅ Eczema
- ✅ Asthma
- ✅ Obesity
- ✅ Auto-Immune Disease
- ✅ Recurring Infections
- ✅ Fussy Eaters
- ✅ Sleep Issues
- ✅ Plus many more…
Online Learning | Children’s Health | Children’s Nutritionist
Would you like a consultation with me at a fraction of the cost? My online learning classes are jam packed with more advice than I provide in a face-to-face appointment. It’s evidence-based naturopathic wisdom coupled with the latest scientific research on kids health I’ve successfully shared with clients over my 20+ year career.
I’ve also included cheatsheets, checklists, nourishing recipes and 25 page book of class notes.
You will learn:
- ✅ Understand the cause if common childhood conditions (eczema, poor immunity, food allergies, food intolerances, poor focus & concentration, ADHD, behavioural problems).
- ✅. Supporting immune function to help support allergic conditions.
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