Have you or someone you know recently been curious about the right amount of sleep for children, and how you can even go about measuring something like that? Perhaps you have had issues in the past with children not getting enough sleep, so you want to take a proactive approach this time around? Maybe you have never had a child before, and you want to make sure you have as much information as possible before you have one of your own? If any of this sounds familiar, then keep reading to learn some useful information. This article will detail a few ways that you can tell if your child is getting enough sleep every day. Kids who do not get enough sleep every night will be stunted in their growth, so make sure you are doing what you can to get your kid to sleep enough every night.
Mood
The first indication that your child might not be getting enough sleep each night is that they have a bad attitude throughout the day. There are certainly some parts of being a parent that will involve your child being in a bad mood, but if your kid is persistently coming across in a bad mood, then you should potentially look into the amount of sleep they get as a cause. Kids are just like other people, in the sense that their mood can vary from day to day, but if your kid is seeming to be in a bad mood more often than not, then you should do everything in your power to investigate the underlying causes.
Energy
Something that most children exhibit that adults balk at is their seemingly nonstop source of energy throughout the day. Kids are supposed to have lots of energy and express a desire to vent this energy as the day progresses. If you have noticed that your child is lacking the energy that their peers have, then you might want to consider looking into the amount of sleep they are getting as a potential cause. Lack of sleep can often result in lower energy levels throughout the day, and this is particularly prevalent amongst young kids and teenagers.
School Performance
Another surefire sign that your kid might not be getting enough sleep is a sudden dip in their performance at school. Things like malnutrition and lack of sleep have been proven to decrease test scores for kids. Although there may be some different underlying causes of poor performance in school, making sure your kid is getting enough sleep is an easy solution.
Sleep Cycles
We have all had those days where we get an appropriate amount of sleep in the night, but we still feel groggy in the morning, and even later on throughout the day. This can sometimes be caused by waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle, which generally lasts about 90 minutes each. It can be extremely tricky to ensure that your child is getting to sleep every night at the right time, let alone trying to synchronize their sleep cycles to optimize their energy levels throughout the day. Many struggling parents use this sleep cycle calculator to help plan their child’s sleep cycles in order to properly prepare for the next day. Sometimes you do not need to force your kids to bed early in order to ensure they have lots of energy the following day. By planning out the times that your kids will sleep, then you can make sure that they wake up ready to take on the day.
Sociability
Have you ever noticed that sometimes your child is perfectly sociable, but other times it can be difficult to even hold a conversation with them? Lack of sociability is also one of the more common signs of lack of sleep in children. Kids are meant to be socializing with each other on a regular basis, and healthy ones will have the energy to do so well after their parents are tired. If your child is showing signs of lack of sociability, then be sure to check in on their sleep levels to see if that might be the cause.
Focus
In a time when kids are spending a lot of time in front of screens and using computer programs to facilitate their learning, it is incredibly common to see issues with focus and attention span in kids. If your kid is displaying signs of decreased focus but does not have a lot of screen time per day, then it is possible that this is being caused by a lack of sleep. Much like everyone else, when kids are not sleeping enough they can have a hard time focusing on tasks throughout the day.
Apps
Does your kid frequently use a cellphone, or have a fitness device such as a Fitbit? If they do, then you should be able to easily find out the exact amount and quality of sleep they are getting each night. Many people have been using fitness-oriented devices in order to track sleep for some time now, and the technology only keeps getting better as time progresses. Lots of top-tier athletes, performers, and even celebrities have been using these apps to keep better track of their personal fitness and health levels much easier.
After reading through a few of the suggestions listed previously, the hope is that you have come away with a better sense of how you can tell if your child is getting enough sleep every night. When you are a new parent it can be incredibly stressful trying to ensure that your child gets everything that they need in the early stages of their life. Fortunately, there are a plethora of amazing resources available online that you are able to access in order to get more well-informed about tracking your child’s sleep and optimizing the amount they get each night. Once your kid starts getting the proper amount of sleep every night, you will notice a tangible difference in their overall disposition and energy levels.