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| |    Sleep: Why and How Much? by Dr. Benjamin Spock reviewed and revised by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Scientists have been carefully studying how sleep works for the past 20 years and have learned how very complicated a process it is. Going to sleep is not like simply turning off a switch. It is a very active process whereby a certain part of the brain changes the chemistry of another part of the brain. These chemical changes cause us to lose our usual consciousness and fall asleep. The purpose of sleep is not entirely understood. Some believe that it is the time we turn short-term memories into long-term memories. We have also learned that sleep seems to enhance the functioning of the immune system. Perhaps that is why we feel like sleeping a lot during illness. In babies, sleep is believed to help maintain and organize newly learned skills within the brain, and it may even play a role in how the brain is wired. Children also seem to do the majority of their growing while asleep. Whatever sleep's purpose, it must be very important in children, since the younger they are, the more they sleep. Light vs. deep sleep Sleep is a very orderly process. By observing body movements and measuring electrical brain waves, we know that sleep is broken up into different stages. Light sleep is also called rapid-eye-movement, or REM, sleep. Eye movements during REM sleep are a sign of dreaming. Dreaming only occurs in REM sleep. Deep sleep has four distinct stages of its own. In the deepest stage (stage IV), the body is very still, the brainwaves are slowed down, and it is hard to wake the person up. The sleep cycle goes from REM (light) sleep, down into deep sleep, and then back up to REM sleep, or even drowsy wakefulness. This cycle happens every hour and a half during sleep in children and adults. The cycle in infants is shorter, about one hour. The sleep cycle explains why some infants cry out or partially awaken every hour or two--that's when they are cycling into active, light sleep. How much does a child need? The average newborn sleeps 16 hours a day. Six-month-olds sleep about 14 hours and 12-month-olds about 13 hours. The average two-year-old needs 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night plus a nap. The nap or rest usually shortens as he grows from two to six, and bedtime at night stays the same. Toward the end of the first year, most babies are down to two naps a day. Between 12 and 18 months, they will probably give up one of these. Between the ages of six and nine, the average child can usually give up an hour of his night's sleep, half an hour at a time, and, for instance, go to bed at 8 p.m. if he gets up at 7 a.m. By age 12, he will probably be able to clip off another hour and go to bed at 9 p.m. The need for sleep rises again with the start of puberty. Many adolescents do not get enough sleep, because they tend to stay up late and usually have to wake early for school. While these are average figures, there is a lot of variation. Some babies and children require a lot of sleep, others very little. You don't need to worry that a baby isn't getting enough sleep to meet his needs, although he may not be getting enough sleep to meet your needs. With older children, however, many things can keep them from sleeping enough. The result may be an irritable child, hyperactivity, or learning problems. Click here to join the discussion on Newborn and Infant Sleep Issues Click here to join the discussion on Toddler and Preschool Sleep Issues
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