It Could Be Sleep
Today’s children and teens struggle with a lot. Under the weight of busier schedules, increasing academic competition, and ever-available technology, it is no surprise that some people are calling out the “youth mental health crisis.”
Many parents and caregivers report a wide range of concerns related to their children and teens. These include changes that they observe in their children’s and teens’ mood, stress levels, behavior, and even focus in school.
It can be really difficult to know what to make of it, how to disentangle the symptoms from the causes, and when to get help.
If any of this sounds like you, have you considered the role of sleep?
It’s easy to forget. We all know we should be getting more and better sleep, but it often gets de-prioritized in the hustle of daily life.
In fact, we sometimes start to glorify how little sleep we get, thinking that we’re warriors for getting away with less. Sometimes, this begins to influence our children as well. Parents may not prioritize their young children’s sleep as much, and teens may start to be proud of how late they stay up in the night to complete homework.
However, biological and psychological research highlights the important connection between sleep and the very mental health crisis symptoms that many parents are noticing.
Here are a few to consider:
Sleep can lead to worse mood
As teens in the 90’s said, “no, duh!”. We’ve all experienced extra crankiness or irritability when we’re tired. Indeed, a poor night’s sleep can lead to lower mood the next day. Sometimes, this connection is less obvious. For instance, when children are just slightly under slept but for a few days or weeks in a row, this can slowly and gradually worsen mood over time.
Confusingly, sleep disruption can also be a sign of depression. Even more confusingly, for some children and teens, this means more sleep than usual, and for others, it might mean less sleep than usual. Therefore, what is causing what might not be clear. The good news is that working to improve sleep duration and sleep quality usually is a helpful step toward improving mood.
Sleep can lead to more stress reactivity
While stress is unavoidable, it can be more difficult to cope with stress when we’re sleep deprived. If that’s true for adults, it can be even more true for children who may be more vulnerable to the effects of less sleep.
Children are still learning how to recognize their signs of stress, how to express their emotions, and how to handle those. When they’ve slept poorly, this can all be even more difficult. What starts as a typical challenge, like a molehill, can become a mountain to overcome. Every child may react to stress differently. While some focus inward, others may focus more outward. Either way, recognizing the role of sleep can help children learn to gain perspective and use their strengths to tackle the challenges of everyday life.
Sleep can affect focus and academic performance
We’ve all noticed feeling mentally foggier when we’re extra tired. Since children’s executive functioning is still in such drastic stages of development, the negative impact of their poor sleep on important outcomes such as focus, concentration, taking initiative, inhibition, control, and decision making can be even more dramatic. In some studies, researchers have demonstrated that ADHD can be misdiagnosed when in fact, symptoms were related to sleep problems. Additionally, issues can compound over time. For instance, children who got less sleep at age 5 experienced more executive functioning difficulties at age 9. Therefore, getting enough sleep is important now, and it’s important for later too.
What can we do about it?
Now that we know how crucial sleep can be for children’s emotional and mental well-being, parents might be feeling stuck. Getting more and better sleep sounds easier said than done.
Here are a few things to consider:
Gather better data on your child’s sleep.
It’s easy to make assumptions about what’s happening based on your personal expectations or a sense of an “average” night. But when parents track their child’s sleep, or a teen tracks their own sleep, they are sometimes surprised by reality. You can use any method that fits best with your life style, simple notes on a phone or piece of paper, or use a specific tracking app. Sometimes, activity monitors built into smartwatches can be helpful, but they may also be misleading, especially if your child moves a lot in their sleep.
Educate yourself on guidelines for sleep.
So many of us have this idea of 8 hours being ideal for everyone, but that’s not always the case. The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes guidelines for recommended sleep duration based on age. Of course, these ranges are just a starting point, and you may have to do some trial and error to find what’s right for your unique child.
Consider more than sleep duration.
It’s more than just how long we sleep for. Other factors, such as the quality of sleep, or sleep efficiency, can also play a role in your child’s mental and physical health.
Approach with curiosity and model better sleep too.
A child or teen is much less likely to improve their sleep if they feel judged, punished, or see their other family members disregarding this important aspect of self-care. Showing that you understand their challenges, compassionately care, and are working on taking care of your own sleep and mental health as well (as appropriate), can go a long way.
Seek out personalized support.
If your child is struggling to get more or better sleep, cookie cutter approaches may not work for them. You may find that your suggestions fall on deaf ears, that it’s difficult to incorporate guidelines into their busy lives, or that all the tricks on the internet do not seem to be helping. You may wonder if it’s important to focus first on sleep, or more on their anxiety, mood, or focus. In that case, it’s a great time to find guidance that can integrate the latest scientific techniques with an approach that is individualized to your child or teen. If that sounds like what you’re looking for, take the first easy step by clicking here to get a free consultation call.
Selected references:
Mitchell, T. B., Cooley, J. L., Cummings, C., Lelakowska, G., Wolfe, L. D., Ricker, B. T., & Farias, R. (2024). Latent profiles of sleep disturbance and impairment in elementary school-age youth: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 49(3), 153-163.
Sadek, J. (2023). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder misdiagnosis: why medical evaluation should be a part of ADHD assessment. Brain sciences, 13(11), 1522.
Turnbull, K., Reid, G. J., & Morton, J. B. (2013). Behavioral sleep problems and their potential impact on developing executive function in children. Sleep, 36(7), 1077-1084.