Sleep problems for visuospatial children

When I was pregnant with our first child, someone gave me a card that I have never forgotten. It read, “Having a baby is nature’s way of telling you that you’re sleeping too much!” In the thirteen years since then, there have been many nights that I have longed for a night of the kids getting ready for bed without incident, sleeping peacefully, staying happily asleep through an uninterrupted night, and waking, as a family, fully rested and refreshed. ready for the day. Ever since I studied the characteristics of visuospatial learners, those who think in pictures, not words, I have wondered if sleep problems are more common among these children than among their sequential auditory counterparts. Do your visual-spatial children struggle to fall asleep at night? Are they “too wired” to sleep at bedtime? Perhaps now that the left hemisphere of their brains is free to take a break from the school day, the right hemisphere is wide awake and ready to create inventions or go on imaginative adventures.

If your children have trouble falling asleep at night, I have some tips that may help. First, your children need to understand the importance of sleep for their bodies and brains. They may think they are getting by just fine without getting much sleep at night. But, if they were really getting the amount of sleep their bodies need, each night, they would do better in school, sports, music, even their relationships with friends and family would improve. Everyone’s need for sleep is different, so there really are no guidelines after childhood for how much sleep a person needs. However, if your children fall asleep in class or cannot concentrate clearly, they should start going to bed earlier.

Sleep researchers believe that sleep, particularly deep sleep,

…allows the brain to review and consolidate all the streams of information it gathered while awake. Another (study) suggests that we sleep to allow the brain to store fuel and remove waste. A third, which has been gaining ground, is that sleep operates in a mysterious way to help you master various skills, such as playing the piano and riding a bicycle. (Time, December 20, 2004, Why We Sleep by Christine Gorman, pp. 48-49)

Researchers have discovered that most mammals, including humans, switch between two different phases of sleep: REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM. It is during REM sleep that people experience increased brain activity and vivid dreams. REM sleep is essential for humans, but you have to go through the stages of non-REM sleep to get there. In fact, “your ability to recognize certain patterns on a computer screen is directly related to how much REM sleep you get.” (Time, December 20, 2004, Why We Sleep by Christine Gorman, pp. 48-49) Also, learning something new just before your children go to sleep will help them remember that information better. Therefore, any major studying for a test should probably be done right before you go to bed.

Have you ever gone to sleep with a problem on your mind, only to wake up in the morning and have the answer? This is because your brain is still working, reviewing the events of the day, even though you are no longer conscious. You can encourage your children to “sleep” a topic before making important decisions. They may be surprised that they discovered a solution overnight!

Once your kids understand the importance of sleep, how do you get them to sleep in the first place, right? Here are some tips to help your children relax and get enough rest for a good night’s sleep:

1. Adjust their biological clocks by maintaining the same sleep schedule, seven days a week. Don’t let them try to catch up by sleeping in on the weekends.

2. Create an environment that helps your children sleep, not one that keeps them awake. A cool, dark, and uncluttered room should help. Eye shields or ear plugs can also help.

3. No caffeine in the afternoon or evening. This means no soda or chocolate. They should avoid spicy foods and finish eating at least three hours before bedtime.

4. No computers, television or arguments half an hour before bed. Research indicates that the body’s production of melatonin (which helps with sleep) is reduced by playing computer games or watching television.

5. Offer a bedtime snack. Some foods naturally trigger a release of serotonin, which helps induce sleep: a glass of milk, whole-wheat toast with a slice of cheese, half a peanut butter sandwich, or oatmeal with bananas might do the trick.

6. Relaxing music is often helpful, as are warm baths.

So let’s say you finally got the kids to sleep. Now how do you help them stay asleep? Snoring is a problem not exclusive to adults. Up to 12% of all children suffer from snoring problems which can have a dramatic impact on their ability to get a good night’s sleep. And when a child snores, new studies suggest, she is more likely to perform poorly in school than a child who doesn’t snore. “What the research now shows is that snoring can cause behavior problems, attention problems and difficulty concentrating,” says Dr. Norman Friedman, an expert in sleep disorders at Children’s Hospital in Denver.

Both of my children have been prone to nightmares. Do your visual-spatial children have nightmares that seem so real that they have trouble erasing them from their memory when they wake up? These nightmares often occur during the deepest part of sleep, REM sleep, and the type of sleep your child needs the most. You can try using a dream catcher and hang it above your beds. Dream catchers have been used for generations. Native American legend says that dream catchers peer into the dreams of the sleeping person, capturing the good ones, and sending the bad dreams through the hole in the center. If you help your children fall into a deep enough sleep that nightmares are not a problem for them, you will have done the trick!

Of course, there are other sleep problems, such as sleepwalking, sleep talking, bedwetting, and night terrors, to name a few. According to the website, Sleep For Kids for Parents and Teachers (www.sleepforkids.org), you should talk to your child’s doctor if you notice any of the following:

A newborn or infant who is extremely and constantly restless

A child who has difficulty breathing or whose breathing is noisy

A child who snores, especially if his snores are loud.

unusual night awakenings

Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, especially if you notice daytime sleepiness and/or behavior problems

Visit the National Sleep Foundation to learn more about your child’s sleep patterns. And to many restful nights ahead!