Sanyukta Baijal
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Almost 80 per cent of the children with autism spectrum disorder have sleep problems.
A quality sleep is very important for your child's health and well-being. It is as crucial as proper nutrition to support your baby's brain development. In fact, the growth of your baby's brain happens while they're asleep.
A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has revealed that sleep complications in the first twelve months of a baby's life could lead to an autism diagnosis. Improper sleep can affect the growth of the hippocampus, an integral part of the brain. The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory. Changes in the size of the hippocampus have been linked with bad quality sleep in adults and older children. Almost 80 per cent of the children with autism spectrum disorder have sleep problems.
The study was conducted on more than 400 children between 6 months to 1 year. The researchers found that infants who were later detected with autism went through sleeping disorders initially. Therefore, it is very important for a child to have a proper sleep in order to avoid hazardous health effects. Mostly children fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed. During the night, your child goes through three cycles of sleep, which are light sleep, deep sleep, and dream sleep. He has his deep sleep for the initial few hours and later slips into light and dream sleep. The last two cycles are the durations where the sleep gets disrupted. But, don't worry the problem can be taken care of. We have enlisted some tips on how to ensure a better sleep for your little one.
Setting up a regular bedtime routine can help improve your baby's sleep quality and promote his/her brain development. Also following a fixed schedule of having a bath, listening to or reading a story and going to bed can help younger children fall asleep easily. For older children, you can try talking to them and giving them some time alone to relax before putting the lights out.
As mentioned above some older children may need to follow a schedule which involves relaxation before going to bed. Try encouraging your child to do that as many grown-up kids may like to call it a day by reading a book or listening to calming music and even by practicing breathing for relaxation. So, if he takes longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, he might need a longer time to wind down.
Most children stop napping between 3-5 years of age. If your child is over five years and still naps during the day, try to limit his napping time to 20 minutes as longer than that can make it harder for children to sleep at night.
Many children sleep alone after a certain age. If your child is sleeping alone in the room, make sure that he/she doesn't get scared while being in the dark. Don't let him/her watch scary TV shows or movies before bedtime. Also, don't allow computer games at night. You can have a night light installed in his/her room as some children feel safer when the lights are on.
Feeling too hungry or extremely stuffed may also lead to a poor sleep. Therefore, make sure your kid is sufficiently full and have dinner at the right time. Also, ensure he gets the required nourishment including milk during the breakfast in the morning which helps kick-start the day properly. Meanwhile, reduce the consumption of aerated drinks and caffeine-rich foods like chocolates as these can disturb the body clock of your little one.