In a recent ad campaign in Milwaukee that shows two individual posters of babies (one white, one black) lying bed next to a large knife stating that “YOUR BABY SLEEPING NEXT TO YOU CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS. The second leading cause of infant mortality in Milwaukee is SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) which is often the result of unsafe sleep. The Department of Health’s website reports that unsafe sleep includes co-sleeping or sharing the bed with their parents. Read more »
Bed Wetting Solution
When my daughter was 5 she still had a problem with wetting her bed. In fact, many times I would catch her during the day struggling not to go to the bathroom in order to finish playing or watching a television show. Although wetting herself because she didn’t want to miss out on anything can be easier to prevent, wetting her bed at night was entirely a different problem. Did you know that 20% of 5 year olds and 10% of 6 year olds wet the bed? Most children grow out of it and others need an easy bed wetting solution like a simple reward system to achieve a positive result, dry nights. Read more »
Sleeping Beauty Real Story (KLS or Kleine-Levin Syndrome)
This is the sleeping beauty real story (KLS or Kleine-Levin Syndrome) also known as recurrent hypersomnia where a person sleeps for long periods of time which can be the result of many sleep disorders. In the fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty, a princess sleeps for 100 years under the curse of an evil witch and a handsome prince comes along to kiss her and breaks the spell. Often it starts with flu-like symptoms with a high fever and just like the fairy tale’s poisoned splinter the sleeping curse begins. This is what happened to a 17 year old from Worthing, England named Louisa Ball. She wouldn’t stop sleeping for 10 to 14 days, only awoken to eat and take bathroom breaks. She missed school, dance classes, birthdays and holidays. Kleine-Levin Syndrome is an incurable autoimmune disorder that disrupts the part of the brain that regulates appetite, sleep and libido. More often than not it afflicts males and usually begins with a virus during preteen and teenage years that trigger sleep and aggressiveness. According to experts, those suffering from KLS syndrome can grow out of it in 10 to 12 years. Read more »
How Much Sleep Should a Teenager Get
How much sleep should a teenager get? According to MayoClinic.com most teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep a night and sometimes more to maintain optimal daytime alertness for their busy schedules. Due to school, homework, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and social demands very few teenagers actually get that much sleep. A publication in the Journal of School Health reported that 90% of teens get less than the recommended hours of sleep and 10% of those teens surveyed are sleeping less than six hours a night. Accumulating a sleep debt of five to 10 hours by the end of the school week can have serious consequences. A tired teen can find it difficult to learn as well as finding it hard to fight afternoon sleepiness. Lack of sleep can also contribute to moodiness and behavioral problems. By the time the weekend rolls around many teens are not their usual selves and tend to sleep in to make up for their sleep debt. What can parents do to help with their teenagers and sleep? Read more »
Preschoolers Naps and Nap Mats
Getting enough sleep for young children is crucial for physical and mental development and naps provide much needed downtime for growth and rejuvenation. Naps help children from becoming overtired, which not only improves their mood but helps them stay focused on school learning and physical activities. There is no right answer when it comes to how much naptime is needed, since it depends on their age and how much sleep they had during the night. If a child gets 13 hours of sleep at night they don’t need to take a long nap verses a child that only sleeps 9 hours at night may require at least a 1 to 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Preschool children between the ages of 3 and 4 need 10 to 12 of sleep each day and/or night, no matter how they get it. Most parents underestimate the amount of sleep their child needs, so be sure to watch for signs of sleep deprivation, which can range from afternoon sleepiness to problems with behavior and schoolwork. Remember if they do nap don’t have them sleep late in the afternoon as this may interfere with their ability to fall asleep easy when you put them to bed at night. Preschooler’s naps are essential if your child is acting sleepy during the day, acting cranky and irritable, has a hard time waking up in the morning and/ or behaves in an impatient, hyperactive or aggressive manner. Read more »
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