2023-11-27 11:57:27
Sleep time is essential for development. In the case of infant sleep, establish an appropriate routine requires great effort, healthy lifestyle habits and leave behind certain activities that can hinder the quality of rest.
He Dr. Gonzalo Pin Arboledas, specialist in sleep medicine and head of the Sleep Unit of the Pediatric Service at the Quirón Hospital in Valencia, explains that sleep favors the development of the central nervous system and helps control the neurohormonal system, becoming a basic activity in the growth stage.
“The dream is like the recovery workshop of the body while we sleep. The body prepares for the energy expenditure of the next day, especially during childhood,” he indicates.
In an interview with EFEsalud, the expert and author of the book ‘Dream is life: Children’s dreams like they have never explained it to you before’ (Ed. Planeta) offers us a journey through children’s sleep so that sleep becomes an ally and not an obstacle in the psychological and neurocognitive development of children.
Video: EFE/Miriam Felipe
Childhood sleep: pregnancy and childhood
Taking care of sleep during pregnancy
“The mother and son are two living beings that evolve together and in parallel during pregnancy. Both influence each other so that the fetus is part of the mother’s body,” says the coordinator of the Sleep area of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP).
Furthermore, the expert explains in his book: “If the mother has regular schedules of sleep, feeding and physical activity in the last trimester of pregnancy, it will be easier for the future baby to achieve regularity in his schedules from the fifth or fifth trimester. sixth month of life.
The first trimester of life: the uncontrolled cries of some babies
“During the first months of life, babies have disorganized your biological clock. That is, one part of your neurons asks you to eat, another asks you to sleep and since they do not agree, crying occurs,” explains the doctor in his book, who also adds that this translates into restlessness and insomnia.
For these first cries, the specialist does not have a magic formula and simply advises parents to learn to wait and help as much as possible. maturation of the biological clock of the baby, respecting their sleeping and feeding rhythms.
Among the activities that help improve babies’ sleep rhythm During the first months, the specialist highlights the contact with the nature.
“From two months onwards, the baby’s body begins to launch another sleep regulatory mechanism. If, from the first months onwards, the irritability and crying are exaggerated and affect the quality of life and sleep of the child and her environment, we should consider doing a study to rule out any other problem,” advises the doctor.
Following a good routine of healthy habits promotes good quality sleep in children. EFE/Alex Hofford
They get older, the dreaded nightmares arrive
From the age of two or three, comes the age at which sleep terrors and nightmares They begin to make an appearance.
A dream terror and a nightmare are phenomena that manifest themselves in more or less the same way, but they are totally different and therefore, parents must deal with it differently.
One of the differences between both terms is that night terrors They are not usually remembered the next day. Approximately 37% of children around 18 years of age have experienced an episode of this type.
Sleep terrors have nothing to do with what happens during the day and often depend on if the child has a chronic sleep deficit or fear, for example of the dark, that can appear if we suddenly stop taking a nap.
On the other hand, heNightmares are usually relived and remembered the next day causing greater suffering.
“As parents, what we have to do first is do not deny that fear exists and accompany the child and teach him how to use tools to put an end to that scary situation,” explains the doctor.
Furthermore, the specialist advises that If nightmares are very frequent, Let’s review what happens during the day in your environment because it could be relevant.
Rest must be taken care of from the first stages of life. EFE/Alex Hofford
Sleeping in mom and dad’s bed
“Co-sleeping is a parental decision,” defends Dr. Pin Arboledas.
exist three different types of co-sleeping:
He educational co-sleeping : From birth, parents decide that the baby will sleep with them. He reactive co-sleeping: When the baby does not stop crying and to avoid discomfort and getting up during the night, parents decide to have the baby share their bed. He environmental co-sleeping which is the one that is widely spread, accepted and naturalized in certain cultures.
The co-sleeping that most side effects can have is the reagentbecause it is not a co-sleeping that the parents have decided.
“The most recommended thing by scientific societies is that during the first months of life and up to a year or so, parents share the room with the baby but not the bed,” explains the specialist.
When the child begins to be one or two years old, if we feel that he has a great attachment and even though it is not our decision he wants to continue sleeping in bed with his parents, we can suspect that this dependency comes from something else.
Naps, good or bad?
The nap is fundamental for the neurocognitive development of the child. The nap time increases depending on the child’s maturity and must be respected.
The expert does not recommend that parents be the ones who cut the naps, but rather that the child be the one who little by little leaves them behind.
“Now, if a child older than five or six years old routinely needs a long nap, that nap can become a warning sign that something is not working well,” says the expert.
“Therefore, up to 3 or 4 years old it is necessary and must be respected. From that age onwards, if they appear or reappear, it will be necessary to investigate whether the child is sleeping little or poorly,” concludes the doctor.
In Spain, stealing hours from sleep is a cultural issue. EFE/Studio Banana
Routines and hygiene of children’s sleep
“The first thing we have to be clear about is that the sleep routine is the 24 hour a day routine and therefore not only what we do at night influences, but healthy habits at breakfast, daily exposure to light, physical activity…” explains Gonzalo Pin.
Having regular and not late feeding times, having a certain exposure to light, a certain temperature, reducing screen time in the moments before going to bed, are activities that can help us fall asleep.
“We experts never say how many exact hours a child should sleep because it will depend a lot on the families and the children themselves. Of course, whenever possible, a routine should be established with more or less regular schedules, with a quiet time before sleep, etc.,” says the doctor.
Respect to weekend schedules, these They tend to vary a lot, But experts advise that there is no more than two hours difference at times compared to weekdays.
Exposure to digital screens before bed can make it difficult for children to sleep. EFE/Marcial Guillén
Decalogue of children’s sleep
Ten questions that the doctor Gonzalo Pin Arboledas considered basic to address children’s sleep:
The dream is lThe activity that takes the most time and energy engages the brain during early development. The Sleep problems and disorders are very common in children. Between 15% and 30% suffer from them. Sleep problems in children can become chronic Therefore, we must leave behind certain factors that make it difficult to fall asleep and go to professionals if necessary. There are currently many strategies to address problems of children’s sleep. They are obstacles that can be prevented. Children’s sleep problems have a great impact on families and alter the sleep of everyone around them. Difficulties give us the opportunity to focus on a situation and learn how to exercise respectful and appropriate parenting. The dream is essential for functioning of the child. Sleep conditions every aspect of the physical, emotional and cognitive development of the kids. The presence of sleep difficulties can hide medical or psychological problems of the child.
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