With Dr Dianne Gumley, Consultant Child Psychologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital

You might think that the years of broken nights are behind you by the time your child starts school. In fact sleep problems often don’t stop there.

Young children can be prone to fears and worries that can affect their sleep. Then around puberty, some teenagers find their sleep patterns alter. They can be wide awake up until the small hours, which means getting a good night’s rest might be difficult for the rest of the family.

Getting enough sleep will boost your child’s health and emotional well being, as well as helping them concentrate at school during the day.

How much sleep does my child need?

This varies from child to child. Some need more than others. As a general rule though, children aged between five and nine will need about 10 hours’ sleep each night, 10-14 year olds need about nine hours and teenagers aged 14-18 need about eight hours. A variation of up to 40 minutes either way, in other words 40 minutes more or less each night, is considered to be within normal limits. These times do not include ’settling down’ time.

What if my child’s not getting enough?

Lack of sleep can be linked with difficulty concentrating at school, irritability, finding it hard to get up in the mornings and unscheduled daytime dozes. Persistent sleep deprivation can affect emotional well being, decrease motivation, impair memory and decision making and inhibit creativity.

Teenagers who are sleep deprived are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour such as drinking, fast driving etc.

Why might my child not be sleeping well?

There can be lots of different reasons. Children often find getting to sleep more difficult if they are overtired. Or they may express fears and worries at night - for instance of the dark, etc. Very often these fears are a way for a young child to give shape to their anxieties generally. Perhaps there is something troubling them at school?

For some teenagers, the circadian rhythm (the rhythm which guides a person’s sleep cycle) can alter. Their ‘internal clock’ can shift by about two hours - so they go to sleep two hours later, and wake up two hours later in the morning. They might seem full of life at 7pm, just as adults tend to be starting to wind down from the day. Some teenagers may find it hard to get to sleep before 1am or 2am, and then find it very difficult to get up for school or college in the morning.

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