Helping Insomnia Caused Anxiety In Children
The Link Between Insomnia & Anxiety in Children & Teens – What Parents Can Do To Help
Introduction
If you have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or wake up very early in the morning, you may be suffering from insomnia.
It is not enough to close your eyes, and simply count sheep and hope you will enter the world of slumber.
Most people, of ALL ages, have occasional insomnia at some point in their lives, experiencing it due to changes in sleep schedules (as during travel) or stressful circumstances, for example.
However, when it starts happening frequently and becomes long term, it can really cause problems in your day to day functioning.
You may feel sleepy putting you and others at increased risk of injury if you drive a vehicle or operate machinery.
You may also have trouble concentrating, and experience problems with your memory.
When you are not getting enough sleep due to insomnia, little stressors can feel like huge stressors, and your coping skills deteriorate.
As a result, your relationships with your family, friends, and/or co-workers will suffer as well.
To complicate matters, people with insomnia often also have anxiety or an anxiety disorder.
Further complicating things, if you have both anxiety and depression, your insomnia is often worse.
So why do anxiety and insomnia often co-exist in individuals?
There are two ways to look at this. Insomnia can cause the anxiety, OR anxiety can cause the insomnia.
First, let’s discuss how insomnia can cause the anxiety.
If you are having trouble sleeping, this may lead to anxiety about a number of different things.
You might start worrying about how you will function the next day on so little sleep, and how you will ever make it through the entire day.
As you think about this and watch the numbers on the clock slowly advance, you become more anxious, making it even more difficult to fall asleep.
On the other hand, when your anxiety is causing the insomnia, your anxiety makes it difficult to shut off thoughts in your head.
You may be feeling worried or fearful about perceived or real issues.
An example that a new parent may experience is that of having a newborn baby who sleeps very poorly at night.
It may feel like every time you start to fall asleep, that the baby wakes up. In someone prone to anxiety, this may translate into anxious thoughts (i.e. “The baby is going to wake up just as I start to fall asleep.”) when you go to bed, resulting in the inability to fall asleep.
In the case of a child with anxiety that results in insomnia, the anxiety may revolve around the fear of the dark or being alone away from his parents.
Because anxiety and insomnia are so prevalent in children and teens today, it is a topic worthy of discussion on its own.
Is insomnia in children and teens similar to adults?
Yes, children can also have insomnia.
In fact, a poll done by the National Sleep Foundation found that more than two out of three children ten years old and under have had a sleep issue of some sort.
Insomnia may last for only a few days (due to sickness), or it can become more frequent and long-term.
Sometimes this can be indicative of anxiety, depression, or other medical problems, so you should always make sure to have your child evaluated by a physician.
Obviously, children and teens may have different reasons for their insomnia when compared to adults.
For example, children may be scared of the monsters they think exist in their closets or under their beds.
Teens may be stressed by exams or bullying going on at school. In many cases, there is a component of anxiety that coexists with the insomnia. That is why it is important to try to get to the root cause of the insomnia whenever possible. In some cases, there is no particular reason for the insomnia, however.
The signs and symptoms of insomnia in children and teens can include:
- Sleepiness during the day
- Poor performance in school
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Decreased focus and concentration
- Mood swings
- Being worried about things
- Hyperactivity
- Forgetfulness and decreased memory for things
- Increased behavioral issues such as fighting and not getting along with others
- Increased impulsiveness
Because children and teens with insomnia have been found to have increased risk for anxiety disorders and depression, it is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of insomnia in your children and teens so that you can help ensure they get the sleep they need.
Here are some ways to help a child or teen with insomnia:
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Try to determine the cause of the insomnia first
For example, if you learn that your child is stressed by trying to keep up with school and homework as well as out-of-school extracurricular activities, you will need to address this before the insomnia can go away. This can be quite a common stressor for children and teens, as they tend to be overscheduled.
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Once you determine the cause, try to eliminate the stressor
In the example above, if the problem is the child feeling stressed by an overly busy schedule, you will need to make adjustments to the schedule.
It may involve talking to the teacher, and setting realistic expectations for homework. Perhaps you will learn that your child is not using his time effectively at school and home, and he therefore needs more guidance on how to do this.
Many children and teens are poor managers of their time, and they will need your help in this area.
To do this, you may need to set limits on use of technology such as video games, for example. It may also be helpful to sit down and help your child determine how to prioritize tasks.
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Establish and follow a bedtime routine
Just like younger children do well with a set routine every night, so do older children (and even adults).
It gets your mind and body prepared for sleep. When you have a set routine, it also keeps things predictable and allows you to manage your time better.
You need to teach children and teens that they need time to unwind and relax before actually going to sleep.
This means no television, video games, social media, and so forth for one to two hours before going to bed.
These bright devices can also interfere with melatonin production in your body, which helps tell your body that it is time to go to sleep.
Instead, teach them that they can do something relaxing such as reading a book before turning off the light, if they are old enough.
Invest in special lightbulbs that do not emit blue light. Red lightbulbs are also an option, and you can find them online.
For younger children, you can set up a specific routine of having a bedtime snack, then teeth brushing, you read them a book, and then tuck them into bed with a hug and kiss.
It may also help to provide your child with a back rub or some extra cuddling time. You just have to determine what works best for your own children.
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Limit your child’s or teen’s access to the news
Unfortunately, the news media portrays a lot of violent and terrible things happening in the world – from terrorist activities to inclement weather such as tornadoes and floods. For an already-anxious child, this can severely contribute to insomnia.
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Do not discuss anxiety-provoking or stressful situations before bedtime
Before your child goes to bed, it is not the time to discuss your disappointment in your child’s grades or that he forgot to do his chores again.
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Teach your older child stress management and anxiety-reducing techniques
Children with insomnia can benefit from many of the same stress and anxiety reduction techniques that adults use – progressive muscle relaxation, visual imagery, yoga, deep diaphragmatic breathing.
Learning these methods and using them before bed, can help treat insomnia as they can turn on the relaxed, parasympathetic part of your nervous system.
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Teach and use good sleep hygiene methods
These methods include waking up and going to bed at the same time, avoiding napping, and avoiding caffeinated beverages and foods six hours before bedtime.
Ensure the bed is only used for sleep, and that it is not the place where the child watches television or does other activities during the day.
In addition, do not exercise two hours before bedtime.
However, do keep in mind that exercise is important in helping with quality sleep so do ensure you do promote exercise.
The best kinds of activities can be those where you spend time with your child going for a walk, riding a bike, or going to the park.
Also teach your older child that instead of tossing and turning for too long, it is better to get out of bed, put a light on low (preferably a red lightbulb), and do something quiet such as reading for 15 minutes, and then go back to bed and attempt to sleep.
If sleep does not occur soon after returning to bed, then he can get up again, and repeat the process until sleep finally does come.
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Set up the bedroom for rest and relaxation
This means sleeping in a room that is not overly hot. It is recommended that you keep the room between 68 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 – 21 degrees Celsius).
It really does depend on the age of the child and if/what types of pajamas the child wears to bed.
Have drapes in place to keep the room dark during sleeping, but you can have a small unobtrusive nightlight (with a red lightbulb) in a corner of the room, if necessary to lessen anxiety.
If your child tends to stare at the alarm clock numbers, then it is best to turn it around to make sure that it is not able to be viewed.
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Remove technology devices from the bedroom
Remove any temptation to check the time, text messages, emails, or social media for the latest updates.
This can increase anxiety, especially if there is anything unsettling that your child reads or views just before it is time to go to sleep.
The blue light emitted from these devices also suppresses melatonin – the sleep hormone – production, thereby delaying sleep further.
In children with anxiety, removal of the devices during the day can also be helpful.
Initially, it may cause more anxiety due to the fear of not being accessible by others and no longer “being in the loop” at all times.
This FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, can be anxiety provoking.
However, you can teach your children that being “on call” all the time or knowing every little thing about other people’s lives (through social media), can cause them more anxiety which further contributes to sleep problems.
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Spend extra time with your children and teens
When you spend time talking and doing fun things together (i.e. family board game night), your children and teens feel closer to you, will trust you more, and will open up to you more.
This gives you the opportunity to get a better idea of what they are experiencing in their lives, and how it may be contributing to their insomnia and anxiety.
Many times, you can also help reduce the insomnia by helping them deal with or solve the problems they are facing.
You have to remember that children and teens do not have the life experience and knowledge of how to deal with situations like you do. By simply providing them with this guidance and teaching, you can help reduce the anxiety too.
In addition, you want to remember that you want to teach them methods of how they can deal with stressors when you are not there.
You may want to do role playing to give them the confidence to deal with situations that arise when you cannot be present.
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Consult a physician or naturopathic doctor
Sometimes, more help is needed. Medications are not generally prescribed for children with insomnia.
However, alternative treatment options may include cognitive-behavioral therapy. The physician or pediatrician can make a referral to a therapist or psychologist trained in this.
A naturopathic doctor may also be able to provide natural suggestions for improving sleep too.
In any case, it is always important for the healthcare professional to try to determine if there is a physical or psychological cause to the insomnia.
Conclusion
Insomnia is a problem for adults, children, and teens. Anxiety often co-exists in individuals with insomnia, and it becomes important to identify the source of the anxiety if insomnia is to be treated successfully.
There are many methods that can be used to help a child with insomnia, which have been outlined above.