“Can a lack of sleep hamper the growth of children?”
My daughter barely sleeps. She is now 3 and a half years old and she gets a limited amount of sleep per day, around 4 hours. We are worried, and we tried everything from warm milk to giving her a little light in her room to make her feel comfortable. Could this affect her growth as well? What do you suggest we do?
4 Answers
Is she taking naps during the day? if so, stop this and see if she will sleep longer. Only 4 hours of sleep is abnormal and she may need a sleep study.
Sleep is complicated because it involves a lot of factors. Most often these are environmental. Talk with you primary care clinic/team about where your daughter sleeps (own bed or family bed), what the environment is like (sounds, light, temperature), and what your general schedule for her day is (wake time, meals and snacks, nap time - ? if taking naps -, and bed time) and what is her "bedtime routine." These are generally the most important factors to promoting sleep in children, the routine and schedule being the MOST important. Your clinic can help you adjust things as needed to promote better sleep.
If you have addressed all these and your daughter is still not sleeping appropriately then she needs to see a sleep specialist to look for more rare causes of sleep issues. Lack of sleep does have a modest affect on growth in the long term.
If you have addressed all these and your daughter is still not sleeping appropriately then she needs to see a sleep specialist to look for more rare causes of sleep issues. Lack of sleep does have a modest affect on growth in the long term.
4 hours of sleep is abnormal at any age but even more concerning at age 4. I would do two things. Check her overall growth and development at her pediatrician. If it is normal take her to a sleep medicine clinic
Yes, being an endocrinologist, we do stress the importance of sleep in the growth of a child. We usually suggest to avoid TV, DVDs, iPads (basically anything with stimulation) before bedtime.
Thank you.
Thank you.
