Sleep disorders in children and adolescents, causes, treatment. Treatment of chronic insomnia

“Every morning begins with a battle: you need to get your child to get out of bed and go to school,” almost every parent of a high school student can say to themselves. It seems that upon reaching adolescence, a child automatically becomes an incorrigible lazy person. But in reality everything is much more complicated. Kayla Wahlstorm, a senior research scientist at the University of Minnesota, discussed her research on teen sleep in a column for Conversation magazine.

For those who are preparing for the main school exam

For 20 years I have studied the effects of waking up early on high school students. Research suggests that teenagers' inability to get out of bed before eight in the morning is a matter of biology, not their own will.

The fact is that teenagers' sleep is not the same as that of younger children or adults. At the onset of puberty, humans (and most mammals) experience delayed sleep phases: their timing of secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin changes. Teenagers are unable to fall asleep until melatonin secretion begins. Symptoms of drowsiness do not begin until approximately 10:45 p.m. The same biological mechanisms prevent a teenager's brain from truly waking up before eight in the morning.

In the same time biological rhythms young children are such that they find it easy to get up in the morning and are ready to start the school day earlier than teenagers. And the school routine does not take into account changes in the biorhythms of older students.

Changes in sleep/wake patterns are beyond the control of adolescents. Simply forcing teenagers to go to bed earlier will not solve the problem.

I've talked to a lot of teenagers, and they all say that when they go to bed early, they can't fall asleep for a long time and just stare at the ceiling until they fall asleep around 11 pm. The US National Sleep Foundation recommends that teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. This means that the earliest healthy time Waking up for teenagers is no earlier than seven in the morning. Research has revealed serious Negative consequences lack of sleep.

Teens who sleep less than eight hours a night are significantly more likely to smoke and use drugs and alcohol.

The risk of depression also increases: almost 52% of high school students who sleep less than four hours a night experience feelings of despondency and hopelessness.

Photo: iStockphoto/robertprzybysz

Results of schools that refused early start lessons are encouraging. Their use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol by teenagers has decreased, while at the same time academic achievement has increased significantly. The number of teen crashes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, fell 70% in the first year after the city's high schools started classes later.

Since 2014, major US health organizations (the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have advocated for high school classes to start at 8:30 a.m. or later. According to fall 2015 data, only 20% of schools followed this advice.

In July, the Huffington Post published a video in which clinical psychologist and sleep researcher Ellie McGlinchey reveals how waking up early disrupts required mode day and is harmful to his health. "If the alarm goes off at 6.30am, they feel like they've just been woken up in the middle of the night." Psychologist believes that high school students should not study according to a schedule primary classes, otherwise in the first lessons they are “in a fog” and cannot concentrate. Late start school day the performance of adolescents and, as a consequence, their academic performance.

In Russian schools, there is a sanitary standard, according to which “school classes should begin no earlier than eight in the morning, and the school administration has no right to schedule “zero” lessons.”

They are not lazy, it's all biology

Photo: iStockphoto / Evgeny Sergeev

At the same time, the biological rhythms of young children are such that it is easy for them to get up in the morning, and they are ready to start the school day earlier than teenagers. And the school routine does not take into account changes in the biorhythms of older students.

Changes in sleep/wake patterns are beyond the control of adolescents. Simply forcing teenagers to go to bed earlier will not solve the problem. I've talked to a lot of teenagers, and they all say that when they go to bed early, they can't fall asleep for a long time and just stare at the ceiling until they fall asleep around 11 pm. The US National Sleep Foundation recommends that teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. This means that the earliest healthy wake-up time for teenagers is no earlier than seven in the morning. Research has shown serious negative consequences of lack of sleep.

Teenagers who sleep less than eight hours a night are significantly more likely to smoke and use drugs and alcohol.

The risk of depression also increases: almost 52% of high school students who sleep less than four hours a night experience feelings of despondency and hopelessness.

The results of schools that have abandoned early start times are encouraging. Their use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol by teenagers has decreased, while at the same time academic achievement has increased significantly. The number of teen crashes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, fell 70% in the first year after the city's high schools started classes later.

According to doctors, teenagers should sleep 8-10 hours. However, according to the National Sleep Foundation, only 15% of teens get eight and a half hours of sleep on weekdays. Absence sufficient quantity sleep negatively affects the health of a teenager. Lack of sleep is a cause of depression and chronic headaches, and children who don't sleep enough have a hard time concentrating on their studies. Therefore, it is extremely important for adolescents to develop healthy habits sleep.

Steps

Part 1

Prevention of insomnia

Clean the room. You will sleep better in a clean and comfortable room. According to research, decorating the bedroom with flowers has a positive influence on your mood when waking up. Your room should have a pleasant and calm environment.

Establish and follow a regular bedtime routine. Since teenagers' lives are quite active, following a bedtime routine is key to a good night's rest. pay attention to following tips when creating a bedtime ritual:

Determine your bedtime and wake-up time. It will all depend on what time you start your day.

Set a goal of getting at least eight but no more than ten hours of sleep each night. This will keep you on track with your sleep schedule. In addition, you will not feel drowsy.
Stick to a sleep schedule, even on weekends. This will make it easier for you to stick to your sleep schedule on weekdays.

Set an alarm. Over time, the body will get used to waking up without an alarm clock; however, at first, you can use an alarm clock to wake up at the same time.
- If you're a heavy sleeper, set multiple alarms or turn your alarm on at maximum volume; If you wake up easily, you can use a regular alarm clock or download a phone app.
Sleep on your right side. According to research, sleeping on the right side improves sleep quality and promotes good mood the next day.

Wake up correctly in the morning. The first step to healthy sleep is proper awakening. In addition, it helps normalize circadian rhythms.

Make sure your bedroom is quiet. Turn off the music before bed. Use earplugs to block out noises that may interfere with a good night's sleep.

Use the bed only for sleeping. Avoid reading, studying, writing or drawing in bed, as these activities promote wakefulness rather than sleep. Your brain should associate the bed only with sleep, and not with the above activities.

Avoid prolonged nap. If, despite night sleep, you still feel tired, take a nap for 15-30 minutes. However, don't overdo it, as long naps during the day contribute to fatigue and interfere with a good night's rest.

Avoid caffeine. Caffeine, even in small doses, can disrupt sleep. If you notice that caffeine has Negative influence for your sleep, eliminate caffeinated drinks from your diet.

Part 3

Eliminate sleep problems

Imagine a calm place. Try to imagine a calm place that gives you pleasant emotions. This could be a museum, a park or a tourist route. Mentally begin your walk, paying attention to details: colors, light, shadow and other elements of the environment. Remember what emotions you felt when you took this walk. This activity distracts your mind from the present, promoting relaxation and sleep.

Practice progressive muscle relaxation. This simple relaxation technique helps relieve stress and calm you down. Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and relaxing all muscle groups of the face and body in a certain sequence, starting with the toes, then the muscles of the thighs, buttocks, abdomen, shoulders, neck and face. Hold the tension for at least 30 seconds. Then relax the tense muscle.

Practice the biofeedback method. Biological Feedback is one of the effective non-drug methods, which helps cope with insomnia. Biofeedback can change a person's response to stress, reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.

Adolescence, a transitional period from childhood to adulthood, has some characteristics of the growth and functioning of a young body, which are often accompanied by health problems. Insomnia in teenagers is one such problem that affects not only their physical state, but also on school performance, relationships with parents and friends.

Causes of insomnia

According to the conducted medical research, the sleep norm for a 14-15 year old child is 8.5-9 hours, which means that he should sleep at 10:00 pm if he has to get up for school at 7:00 am. However, many children at this age begin to have problems falling asleep. Insomnia in adolescence is a common occurrence (about 12.5% of children 14 years of age) and often happens not because of their reluctance to sleep, but because the child’s brain is not ready to fall asleep.

The most common reason for this is a delay in the production of the hormone melatonin, which occurs at this age later than in adults. As a result, the child’s brain cannot tune in to the process of falling asleep, and experiences and thoughts about this also do not contribute to solving the problem.

Causes of insomnia in teenagers:

Physiological changes ( hormonal changes) in the body of a child at this age.
Emotional tension (stress, depressive states, experiences), when children at that age worry for some reason that seems trivial to adults.
An incorrectly structured or disrupted daily routine, especially during the holiday period, when the child tries to go to bed later, explaining that he will “sleep it off tomorrow,” and then sleeps for a long time in the morning and daytime, making efforts to “catch up on lost” sleep time or sleep ahead (which is completely impossible according to research conducted by scientists) - the usual schedule of the day and, accordingly, sleep is disrupted.
Heavy stress (mental and emotional), which is most often associated with school demands.
Weak exercise stress, because at this age, movement, sports, active games are extremely necessary for normal development.
Bad habits that appear when a child has a lot of free time, when he can get carried away with smoking, consuming low alcohol drinks, drugs (this also includes coffee and various energy drinks).
Improperly organized preparation for bed (lack of a ritual of falling asleep, uncomfortable atmosphere in the room or uncomfortable bed).
The most common reason now is online communication and the influence of the Internet.

How does insomnia manifest?

Parents with a child aged 14-15 years need to monitor increased attention for his health and quality of sleep. A cause for concern may be, first of all, a decrease in nighttime sleep time, when the child sleeps less than 8 hours.

You also need to monitor the period when the process of falling asleep occurs. For healthy person this time is usually up to 15 minutes, and if the teenager “toils” and cannot fall asleep long time(up to 2 hours) due to untimely thoughts, memories, music or the discomfort of the bed, then this should make parents think about the reasons for this.

Quite often, insomnia in adolescents manifests itself in night awakenings associated with various troubles ( horrible dream, noise, etc.). Healthy child usually falls asleep immediately, and someone who suffers from sleep problems may spend some time doing this.

A clear sign of lack of sleep is the complex process getting the child out of bed in the morning. After a night of trouble sleeping, a teenager feels tired and uncomfortable. If this feeling does not go away within the next half hour, it is a symptom of insomnia.

Symptoms of a child's sleep deprivation

Insomnia in a 14-year-old teenager affects, first of all, his physical and mental state. Consequences bad sleep and nighttime insomnia at this age are external signs and changes in the child’s behavior and character:

irritated and even aggressive state in the morning and daytime;
frequent whims over trifles;
signs of poor concentration appear during school hours,
when doing homework and studying;
decline in school performance;
chronic fatigue;
decreased appetite or, conversely, the desire to eat more than usual.

Insomnia in teenagers: treatment

Parents in such a situation are concerned about their teenager’s insomnia. What to do, they ask. According to medical reports, insomnia is not some kind of human disease, but only one of the symptoms of an unexplained health problem. Therefore, the first step to solve this problem is to find out and clarify the causes of sleep disturbance.

Then parents should help their child cope with such a problem. After all, the main thing is to break vicious circle when depression and other problems cause difficulty falling asleep in a child, and then the insomnia itself is the cause of subsequent physical and psychological disorders adolescent health.

Activities to normalize sleep

Insomnia in adolescents, if it is short-term, can be eliminated with the help of certain measures that parents should take, regardless of the reasons causing insomnia:

Prohibition especially with the consumption of spicy, smoked and fatty foods, chocolate and sweets, strong coffee and tea. If your child wants to have dinner before bed, it would be optimal to offer him any dairy products.
Inspect the child's bed and bedroom for replacement of uncomfortable bedding or the bed itself. It is recommended to remove irritating factors which may interfere with falling asleep.
Reduce to evening time communication with the telephone, TV and computer, turn off all equipment an hour before bedtime.
If a child sleeps in a common room, then it is important to fence off the children's area, for example, using a screen.

Prevention of insomnia

Parents often cannot agree with their growing child on some pressing issues. However, only this can help to overcome the problem of insomnia. Find mutual language It is imperative that we solve this problem together in the following ways:

arrange for the child to go to bed at the same time all the time, then he will develop the necessary reflex;
give up daytime sleep (if you had it before), make sure that the child does not fall asleep after 17.00;
prohibit using the computer and watching TV in the evening, especially films and games with elements of fighting and horror;

explain that you need to stop consuming stimulating drinks in the afternoon; it’s better to drink in the evening Herb tea(better soothing - mint, lemon balm and other herbs);
After going to bed, make sure the teenager’s room is dark, this will help speed up the production of melatonin.

Treatment of chronic insomnia

When insomnia in adolescents does not go away for a long time despite the fact that all measures to eliminate it have already been taken by parents and the child, then it makes sense to talk about chronic forms e disease, then it is possible to use treatment with medicinal herbs or medicines.

Teenagers should be prescribed a prescription by a doctor who will help identify and recommend ways to solve this problem. Most often, experts recommend the following medications:

Melatonin (sleep hormone) can only be used to treat short term and only after the adolescent reaches puberty.
Various teas based herbal preparations: chamomile, mint, passionflower. This tea should be drunk half an hour before falling asleep.
Valerian is considered the most common plant for eliminating sleep disorders, but there is a risk (especially in adolescence) of getting the opposite effect, when valerian root can cause increased anxiety.

When to consult a doctor

If all measures to improve the process of falling asleep and improving the quality of night sleep in a child do not help, then you may need to consult a doctor. Insomnia can be caused by illness nervous system or in a child.

Therefore, in case emotional disorders It would be best to have an interview with a psychologist. Such a highly qualified specialist will be able to help the child cope with his negative emotions and solve “teenage problems”.

A psychologist will teach a teenager to control their emotions and prevent negative influences. emotional stress(quarrels in the family and with friends, trouble at school, etc.), and will also recommend that parents improve their family relationships, do not allow an obvious showdown in the presence of a teenager, which is also common cause psychological problems.

Good emotional balance in such a situation should stabilize mental condition teenager

Conclusion

Having considered all aspects of solving such a common problem as insomnia in adolescents, the causes, treatment of short-term and chronic forms of the disease, we can come to the conclusion that only through joint efforts with a teenager can parents help their child get rid of insomnia.

Very often, teenagers stay up late at the computer, go to bed in the middle of the night, but still have to get up early in the morning to go to school. Some parents are alarmed that the teenager does not have time to properly rest during the night, while some consider this phenomenon to be in the order of things and are not very worried about it. But in vain, since lack of sleep in adolescence is fraught with the most different problems both physically and psychologically.

Sleep norm for a teenager

Researchers have found that the norm for teenagers is about 9 hours of sleep. good sleep. Eight hours of sleep is already considered a critical norm, and it is better not to allow a teenager to sleep less than this amount of time. If a teenager doesn't get enough sleep, it can cause a lot of various violations in its development - these are physical, emotional, and psychological deviations.

Sleep deprivation and social problems in adolescents

Lack of sleep in adolescents is associated with problems in socially. First of all, lack of sleep affects a teenager’s academic performance; he also has problems communicating with others. It is worth noting that lack of sleep makes a teenager irritable and negatively disposed towards the people around him throughout the day, both adults and peers. He experiences a lack of normal communication at home and at school, which, in turn, provokes the development of psychological problems.

Psychological problems

The researchers concluded that lack of sleep causes psychological problems in adolescents such as depression, thoughts of suicide, and the desire to harm themselves. Scientists note that similar problems occur in teenagers who went to bed after midnight. Moreover, the less time a teenager has to sleep, the higher the likelihood of developing various psychological diseases.

In addition to psychological problems, teenagers also experience physical ones. Lack of sleep is very often associated with the development of obesity, and most often overweight teenage girls suffer. Lack of sleep in adolescents is also very often associated with the development of a disease such as vegetative-vascular dystonia. You need to know that the signs of this disease are fatigue, weakness, headache, tendency to fainting states, feeling of lack of air, poor adaptation to heat or stuffy rooms, increased sweating and other disorders.

As we can see, there are many problems associated with lack of sleep among teenagers, so parents should bring to the attention of the teenager what negative consequences arise as a result of sitting at the computer or in front of the TV screen until midnight. Lack of sleep negatively affects not only its quality that night, but can also affect natural biorhythms and provoke the development of insomnia.