Is Your Child Sleep Deprived?
Not all children experience sleep problems such as those in the previous post, but sleep deprivation is something frequent to school-age children. Although it is common for adults, it is likewise a significant factor in children’s lives. On average school-age children sleep 91/2 hours, while experts recommend 10 to 11 hours of sleep.
Some signs may indicate sleep deprivation, like those relating to mood and behavior. If you’re child is observed to be moody and irritable, it may be an indication of sleep deficiency. Also, with regard to behavior, if the child is seen to be hyperactive, there is probability that there is a lack of sleep in your child.
Other signs relating to mood include being easily upset or overly emotional. Having unexpected daytime naps, such as when riding in the car also shows that your child may be sleep deprived. During the morning, when he/she is difficult to wake up, probably the child had a difficult time sleeping thus shorter hours of sleep. But when there’s occasional falling asleep much earlier than regular bedtime, it may be a sign that the body is making up for the lack of sleep one had in previous days. If the child tends to be accident prone and likely to make mistakes, it can be a signal as well that there is lack of sleep. Other indications which affects the child considerably in school and even when relating to family members and friends shortened attention span, poor memory, and reduced concentration, problems adapting to new situations and difficulty playing independently.