Sleep Tips from the Experts at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego

The little man, Duke is a night owl, just like me. When I was pregnant with him, he would start moving at around 10 o’clock at night. I knew right then and there I’d have a problem with him at bedtime.

Fast forward to the present, Duke is now two years old and has a very sporadic sleep schedule, if he has one at all. I guess that’s partly my fault, but he is still nursing regularly, even in the middle of the night – multiple times! In addition, we are a co-sleeping family so he just rolls over when he wants chi-chi (milk) and goes to town. I realize breast feeding is mostly for comfort now, and I’m okay with that most days, but I admit it does make it difficult to get a full night’s rest.

When I was invited to a blogger event with Rady Children’s Hospital and Children’s Primary Medical Group (CPCMG) about sleep, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. We’ve been with CPCMG network since Pinky was born in 2010 and we’ve spent our fair share at Rady Children’s Hospital, so I was confident I’d learn a lot and go home with some actionable tips. By the way, did you know last week was National Sleep Awareness Week? Better get on that sleep train next year!

The speakers at the event included Dr. Adrienne Lostetter, CPCMG Gateway pediatrician and member of the CPCMG network and Dr. Rakesh Bhattacharjee, Director, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego Sleep Center. We had seen Dr. Lostetter for appointments in the past, but this was the first time I’d met Dr. Bhattacharjee and heard about the Sleep Center. I appreciated both doctor’s knowledge and enthusiasm about the topic of sleep. The event was sponsored by Jimbo’s who taught us how to make our own sugar scrubs from natural ingredients. It was a lot of fun. You can find the recipe here.

Vanilla mint scrub! #rchnsleep pic.twitter.com/gJh2o6zaCe

— Melissa Ellefsen (@MelissaEllefsen) March 11, 2016

Sleep Needs by Age Group

The following is a quick guide from Dr. Lostetter that shows the recommended hours of sleep based on age and stage in life.

Preschoolers ages 3-5 need about 10-12 hours
Infants/Newborns need can sleep about 16-17 hours, but may sleep in 1-2 hour chunks of time
Toddlers ages 1-2 need about 11-12 hours of sleep a day, including naps to help them grow
Teens need approximately 8.5-9 hours of sleep

You can also see these guidelines in more detail from the National Sleep Foundation here.

My Personal Takeaway

Many of the takeaways for me were specific to my needs with Duke. For example, Duke is a small guy; his pediatrician was worried about him when he completely fell of his growing curve. I took into consideration his asthma and the scary fact that he wakes grabbing his legs kicking and screaming in the middle of the night yelling, “…it hurts, it hurts.” I was looking for answers and I at least got some ideas on where to start researching. I’ll be taking him to the doctor to have his iron checked after learning about periodic limb disorder. It’s a condition where that may be caused by low ferritin levels, but can be treated with iron therapy pretty quickly. I’ll keep you posted.

Sleep Tips and Tricks

Here are a few other things that stood out to me about catching z’s.

Turn devices on an hour before going to bed. This sounds like a no brainer, but the reason behind it was new to me. Devices like our phones, tablets and even our Kindles give off a lot of blue light which reduces the amount of melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep.

It’s recommended that all technology be turned off at least 1 hour before bedtime to avoid distractions in sleep patterns. #rchnsleep

— Angela Quisumbing (@thepinkyproject) March 11, 2016

Most teens who have sleep problems, have bad eating habits. This is scary because of the high rate of obesity in our country. Sleep is important, but so is eating healthy. We need to be good examples to kids especially with the food choices we make.

Sleep Credit Cards. If you’re having trouble transitioning your child to their own bed or room, consider using what’s called the sleep credit card. If your child won’t fall asleep without you next to them, if they keep finding ways to get out of bed or get your attention have them create their own sleep card. The idea for the card is that they are only able to use it once in the night giving them the tough responsibility of deciding on when to best use it. It might be worth a try for those with children 5 and up who can grasp the understanding better.

Here are some of the top tips from other bloggers at the event. To find more, search hashtag #RCHNSleep on Twitter. What are some of your tips for getting kids to bed and having enough sleep?

Kids need a media curfew. Tablets and screens can mess with their sleep patterns. Read a REAL book at bedtime! #rchnsleep

— Chelsea and Nate Day (@somedayilllearn) March 11, 2016

There are behaviors that can be learned to go to sleep. One of them is a bath routine with essential oils. #rchnsleep

— WhatSaysU, Jennylou? (@JennylouRaya) March 11, 2016

Challenge yourself to sleep without an alarm clock. This will help determine how much sleep YOU need personally. @pedsleep #rchnsleep

— Angela Quisumbing (@thepinkyproject) March 11, 2016

A calmer routine and limited electronics before bed = success! Hallelujah. #rchnsleep

— Sara Wacker, APR (@sarawacker) March 11, 2016

Thank you Rady Children’s Hospital, Children’s Primary Medical Group and Jimbos for a fun event.

@radychildrens @pedsleep Thanks for a great event tonight. Let’s all get a good night’s sleep! #rchnsleep pic.twitter.com/4nN7DWwrNY

— CPMGSanDiego (@cpmgsandiego) March 11, 2016