What Happens When Your Kid Doesn't Get Enough Sleep

It's funny—and frustrating—how 'I'm not tired!' at bedtime turns into 'I'm so tired!' when it's time to wake up in the morning.

We're well aware of bedtime battles. Getting your kid to bed at night can be difficult, making it mission impossible to get them up the next day for school. This domino effect combo is a perfect recipe for sleep deprivation—an issue that goes much deeper than having to drag them out of bed.

We've consulted with sleep experts to teach you everything you need to know about the importance of getting enough Zs, especially for a growing child, and the consequences that can arise if you don't.

The reason their sleep deserves more attention

While sleep is vital for supporting everyone's brain and bodily functions, it's even more important for growing children.

Sleep medicine specialist Morgan Soffler says that sleep is critical to a child's development "across several domains," including memory formation, learning, and emotional regulation. She also highlights the significant role sleep plays in their physical growth.

"Growth hormone is secreted during sleep, particularly during a type of sleep called slow wave sleep (the deepest stage of sleep)," says Soffler, "so that's when a lot of crucial growth and tissue repair happens." She adds that a lot of learning consolidation occurs during this sleep stage as well.

Board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner Shebna Osanmoh refers to sleep as a "biological necessity" for children, emphasizing its impact on their immune system. "Regular restorative sleep bolsters a child's immune system by supporting the production of infection-fighting cells and antibodies," he says.

Osanmoh highlights how, without enough sleep, children are at an increased risk for infections, slower recoveries (both viral and physical) and long-term health issues, amongst a variety of others.

Sleep is important for:

• Memory
• Learning
• Emotional regulation
• Immunity

How much sleep do kids actually need?

Sleep experts in North America often refer to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) or the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) regarding the amount of sleep recommended for each age category of children. Both associations follow identical advisories:

• 4-12 months: 12-16 hours/night
• 1-2 years: 11-14 hours/night
• 3-5 years: 10-13 hours/night
• 6-12 years: 9-12 hours/night
• 13-18 years: 8-10 hours/night

What happens when their sleep falls short

Every reason sleep is so crucial for a growing child comes with a unique consequence of not getting enough, so let's walk through them.

Raj Dasgupta, a quadruple board-certified medical doctor, says lack of sleep can have "three big buckets" of adverse effects: emotional, behavioural, and physical.

Emotional

Mood swings, which include morning moodiness, fall into both the emotional and behavioural categories. While your kid being a grumpy pants isn't necessarily any cause for concern, it is possible that these moods have either roots in underlying mental health issues, or may be slowly contributing to their creation.

Johns Hopkins Medicine reveals that inadequate sleep can create difficulty in regulating emotions, which can consequently leave an individual more vulnerable to depression. Dasgupta says that poor sleep patterns can also contribute to anxiety.

"Getting poor quantity and quality of sleep makes them irritable ... it puts them at risk for things like anxiety and depression," he says, "both of which are often overlooked and  underlooked in children."

Behavioural

Soffler says that sleep deprivation can sometimes mimic symptoms of ADHD, hyperactivity, and a lack of attention. "If you are seeing those behavioural issues with your child, such as school-related or academic performance issues, those should be signs to take inventory of your child's sleep," she says.

Physical

Physically speaking, on top of overall growth potentially being affected by long-term insufficient cycles of sleep, all three experts state that children who don't get enough rest are at a higher risk for obesity, which Dasgupta highlights as an epidemic around the world.

"When you're sleep deprived, there's going to be a disregulation of weight hormones (leptin and ghrelin)," he says, "not to mention, getting poor sleep increases levels of cortisol."

The issue of sleep deprivation, especially amongst children, is becoming more widely recognized and studied by various institutions.

A study looking at sleep difficulties as a risk factor for adolescent injuries in 46 countries reveals that 44 percent of individuals who reported having poor sleep have had one injury. In contrast, 21.5 percent have experienced multiple injuries. A study by IKEA revealed that for every hour of lost sleep, 38 percent of participants reported increased feelings of sadness.

Signs your child isn't getting enough Zs

Big yawns at the breakfast table and/or whining on the way to school indicate that your kid isn't clocking enough hours in the sack. But signs of sleep deprivation aren't always so apparent.

Dasgupta says that there are a couple of things parents should watch out for if they're concerned their child is suffering from sleep deprivation, but aren't 100 percent sure. These include:

• Impulsive actions
• Being moody often throughout the day
• Low energy levels
• Decreased social skills
• Trouble falling asleep or inability to stay asleep - likely because they're already having problems during the day and recuperating from the night before
• Wanting to nap a lot (applicable if older than 5)

Poor academic performance can also be an indicator of sleep deprivation.

How to support better sleep for your kids

If you're reading this and starting to worry that your child may not be getting enough quality sleep, don't worry, there's always time to turn things around.

Consistency

Soffler says that her most important piece of advice for parents is consistency. "Make sure that they have a good bedtime routine, at about the same time every night, and that wake times and nap times are similar," she says. Consistency is key to good sleep, and that's true for both children and adults.

A good way to maintain consistency is to set up a healthy schedule for your kids. Dasgupta recommends that parents find ways for their kids to get their homework done as early as possible, feed them a balanced diet, and ensure they have daily opportunities to release energy and steam. He also emphasizes the importance of a steady bedtime routine, even on weekends when kids want to stay up later.

"It throws your whole circadian rhythm off, so it's important to try to be consistent, even on vacations, as much as possible," he says.

Limit screens

All experts strongly suggest that parents severely limit screens before bedtime. Soffler explains exactly how screens can disrupt sleep.

"It's really about that time that they're spending on their devices rather than sleeping," she says, "and the actual light from the screens can also counteract melatonin, which is the major hormone that tells our body it's time to go to sleep."

Keep track

Soffler recommends that parents physically log how much sleep their children get. "In the busyness of a day, we can sometimes think our children are getting enough sleep, but when we sit down and put pen to paper, we may be short-changing them even as little as an hour, which can make a significant difference in their sleep," she says.

The bottom line

It's easy to dismiss a child's morning grumpiness as just a phase, but the truth is, consistent, adequate sleep is a critical, non-negotiable pillar of their healthy development. Far from affecting their mood, insufficient sleep in children can significantly impact their learning, emotional regulation, behaviour, and physical growth. Prioritizing the recommended hours of quality sleep for your child based on age is essential in preventing potential problems.

If you find your child is still tired despite getting the recommended amount of sleep, or maybe you're still having issues getting them to bed despite a consistent routine and healthy diet, Soffler recommends that parents talk to their child's doctor to rule out sleep disorders or fragmentation issues, such as sleep apnea.

Experts

• Morgan Soffler, M.D. Sleep Medicine Specialist & Asst Professor at New York Medical College
• Shebna Osanmoh, Board-Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at SavantCare