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By Nicola Reynolds
The benefits of sleep may seem obvious but did you know..
There are 2 types of sleep:
RAPID and NON-RAPID eye movement (REM). NON REM cycles (quiet sleep) occur throughout the night which can last about
50 minutes in children and about 90-110 minutes in adults. More REM (active sleep) occurs towards the morning. Research from
numerous studies show children and adults flit from REM to NON REM cycles during their sleep time.
People think they can ‘just catch up’ on missed sleep hours. The truth is, you won’t ever be able to do that. This is known as
‘sleep debt’. Just remember, we all love a cup of coffee to wake us up, but bear in mind this is a stimulant and not a substitute for
the real thing.
DID YOU KNOW dreaming is exercise for the brain, on average we dream about 2 hours each night. Dreaming helps develop our
cognitive development and helps us to problem solve. Appropriate ‘napping’ for young babies and children is extremely beneficial.
When you have a bad night’s sleep that then leads into another and then another, not just for you but for your children, why not
try writing a brief ‘sleep diary’? I have used this myself to find the triggger of what helps me drift off to sleep easier. Write down
what you ate for dinner, the activities that happened an hour prior to bedtime, the time of getting into bed and how many times
you woke up and at what time. When trying to promote a routine with a child, a visual aid can be beneficial. You could use a reward
chart where they tick off the steps of their own bedtime routine and you could give them a smiley face when each part has been
positive. I have used this with my 5 year old when she found it difficult that her older siblings got to go to bed later than her.