Did you know?

Here are a few things you may not have known about sleep.

1) Your body's internal alarm enables you to wake up spontaneously at the time that you feel is right for you, is triggered by the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. The levels of this hormone may occasionally rise an hour or two before an expected wake up call to prepare your body for waking up. Sometimes this works "too efficiently" and you wake half and hour or an hour before the time you had in mind.

2) In a study, completed over six years, and looking at a million adults, it was demonstrated that people who get only six to seven hours of sleep a night have a lower death rate than those who get eight hours.

3) The Spanish, possibly because of their "Siesta" in the afternoon,sleep an average of 40 minutes less per night than other Europeans. This is balanced by the fact that Spain also has the highest rate of workplace accidents in the EU, and the third lowest productivity rate. In a gesture to integrate Spain into the EU a campaing was launched to eliminate these afternoon naps/siestas.

4) Oxford University researchers, in 2002,unsurprisingly concluded, that the traditional practice of counting sheep is an ineffective cure for insomnia. This mental activity is so boring that other problems and concerns inevitably surface.

5) During REM sleep, every 90 minutes or so, there are bursts of electrical activity through the brain stem. These are related to dreaming. During an average lifetime, the ordinary person spends more than six years dreaming, clocking more than 136,000 dreams in all. The reasons why we dream have been speculated on for many years, but no one has yet identified the reasons for dreaming.

Separation Anxiety in Childhood

Many mothers believe that their child has anxiety about being separated from their parent or parents. It is normal for children of 8-10 months to be visibly concerned about leaving parents or carers. Current research tells us that 90% of 10-month-old infants will become upset if a stranger approaches them in an unfamiliar room. Only 50% will become upset if the child is given time (10 minutes) to become familiar with the room. This suggests that, in new situations, infants cope better if they come across new things gradually.

Small children cope better when adults take time to allow the child to get to know them first. Seating a child of a few months on mum or dad's knee, facing a new adult and allowing the child to observe the interaction between the adults first, can help the child become more confident in the new adult and then interaction between the other adult and child is more acceptable. The infant will still look for mum or dad's reaction to their interaction with the visitor and will probably only accept a short interval of direct contact without seeking a return to mum or dad. This is entirely normal.

Separation Anxiety peaks at between 14-18 months and decreases through childhood. Children need to socialise and they need the security of knowing that their parents are there for them. Offering a series of short separations over time will help a child cope with being away from mum and dad.

Allergic or Intolerant?

Many people mistakenly think that they, or their children, are allergic to a particular food substance. A recent report commissioned in the USA, found the field of diagnosis of food allergies is rife with poorly done studies, misdiagnoses and tests whose results are misleading.

So how do you know you have an allergy? True allergies can be demonstrated in a rise of Immunoglobin E antibodies. That said, there are many people with Immunoglobulin E antibodies who do not react to the foods that this suggests. Allergies affect the immune system. Even people who have had genuine food allergies as children, may not have them as adults. Sometimes people develop allergies for unknown reasons. One of the most effective ways of deciding whether there is a food allergy or not, is by using a "food challenge". This involves giving some one a suspect food disguised so that they do not recognise it, or a placebo food. In practice most doctors believe this to be time consuming, and in the case of peanuts for example, there is the possiblity of a frightening response.

For this report Dr. Reidl and his colleagues reviewed all the papers they could find on food allergies published between January 1988 and September 2009, more than 12,000 articles. In the end only 72 articles met their criteria which included having sufficient data for analysis and using rigorous tests for allergic responses.

Intolerances such as Lactose Intolerance, is due to the lack of sufficient enzymes in the body, to digest the sugar in milk. Sulfites in wine, can cause headaches for some, and this is again an Intolerance not an allergy.

During development, the immune system tends to react to certain food proteins, and can produce IgE antibodies, but these antibodies can be transient or inconsequential. By themselves pinprick tests and antibody tests are not sufficient to demonstrate food allergy. The people involved in this study hope that their report will lead to further research and clarify both the definition of, and testing for, food allergies.

Sleep and the Autistic child

The rate of sleep disturbance and sleep disorders is notably higher in children who have other health or developmental disorders. Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Autism have particular difficulties in sensory processing. These can be general or specific to that child. There are ways to assist children affected by these difficulties to improve their sleep pattern and thus improve the whole families sleep.

Patterns and routines are even more important as they cue the child to expect the next consequence or next event. Having a good, simple, regular routine is comforting to a child. Other sensory assistance in getting the child to be calm and ready to sleep can be successfully used in different formats, different intensities and variations to meet the child's sensory needs.

Using "heavy work" concentrates the child's energy and calms. Pushing a weighted basket round an obstacle course can be fun. The basket should be heavy and require effort but not so heavy as to strain the child pushing it. Playing wheelbarrow games where the child is the wheelbarrow may also be helpful. Again, this requires concentration of effort.

Some children benefit from the use of a weighted blanket. There are a variety of manufacturers who produce these. The blanket may be weighted with a variety of fillings. Ideally the weight of the blanket should be about 2.2Kgs heavier than the child. Tucking a child in a weighted blanket offers firm pressure over the body and for some children this is very comforting. It can feel a little like being swaddled, held comfortably without the need for someone to do the holding.

Using white noise in the bedroom can help some children because it blocks other noise and reduces distraction. For some children the same techniques which help children settle to sleep and remain asleep are every bit as effective for children affected by Autism and Autistic spectrum disorders. It simply requires more repetition before the child can relax and settle into the routine.

Every child is different. What works for one child may be less effective for another and it can take a while trying and repeating things to identify the most effective routine and resource for your child.

If you would like help with your child's sleep, Contact Dream-Angus.com

Children and choices.

Children have very little control of their lives. Parents will make all the decisions for them. To give them some control, it is good to offer them simple choices. As they learn to make these choices, they learn the consequenses of them and to take responsibility at their own level, for the decisions they make. Choices should be simple, between A or B.

The more choice a child has the more confused they become and the more difficult the choice. From a very early age children should be given choices to make which give them a feeling of control without becoming battle ground between child and parent.

A child who learns early in life to make choices for themselves is more secure in that they realise and appreciate that every decision comes with a consequence. Choosing not to wear wellingtons and stomping in puddles results in wet feet! Choosing to wear a summer dress on a winter day makes life cold and uncomfortable.

If your child is used to making simple decisions for themselves then they are more co-operative when you decide that it is now your turn to make the decision for them. The child becomes more self aware and more responsible, within the limits of their age and stage of development.

Learn to trust your child and let them make some simple decisons for themselves.

How long does it take to alter sleep behaviour?

If your child has a sleep difficulty it is important that that difficulty is first clearly identified. There are a range of sleep disorders which children and adults can experience.
Once that difficulty is identified, through a detailed history, and the duration of the problem is known, it can take as little as four to six weeks to resolve.

When a child has another underlying health issue, or has a handicapping condition, it may take three to four months to properly resolve the sleep difficulty.

The main requirement in following any behaviour altering programme, is that the routines set are consisitent and this can require a great deal of effort from parents and carers. Being consistent with a child when you yourself have a sleep deficit is not always easy. There are always times when it is much simpler to give in, to accept a level of unwanted and/or antisocial behaviour, than to be firm and insist that a set behaviour has a consistent consequence.

Circadian Rhythm disorders require the greatest comittment as the behaviour alteration has not only to alter the body clock, but to maintain that alteration for at least two or three months longer than the original duration of the difficulty. Even at that, altering routines by as much or as little as one hour can upset the system and require a "re start". This can try the motivation of the young person as well as the patience of the parents.

That said, the resolution of these difficulties brings enormous rewards in the entire body system, mental health and attitude to life.

If you would like help in resolving your child's sleep difficulty..
Contact;- www. Dream-Angus.com