Behavioural sleep problems in children and adolescents

Sleep is a learned behaviour. Babies need to learn to self-soothe to sleep at the start of the night. Waking up at night is a normal part of sleep. Crying for parental attention is a learned behaviour unless the child needs feeding or has a medical problem. Children need healthy sleep environments, appropriate diets, exercise in the day and a bedtime routine to experience optimal sleep. Twenty to thirty percent of parents and carers report that their child has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Sleep problems can have a detrimental effect on children’s daytime behaviour and mental health. As children do not always grow out of their sleep problems these problems should be addressed. Careful assessment is required to identify the underlying cause of the sleep problem