Did you know?
25-40% of children between 4 and 10 years have sleep problems.
Insufficient sleep is a big problem for many reasons. Sleep impacts every domain of a child’s health and development. Good sleep optimises brain maturation. There is a public health demand for sleep screening at community-based well-child assessments to enable early detection and early intervention of sleep disorders that may impact neurodevelopment.
How many hours of sleep do children need?
| Developmental Stage | Age | Recommended Hours of Sleep |
| Newborns | 0-3 months | 14-17 hours |
| Infants | 4-2 months | 12-16 hours |
| Toddlers | 1-2 years | 11-14 hours |
| Preschoolers | 3-5 years | 10-13 hours |
| Children | 6-12 years | 9-12 hours |
| Teenagers | 13-18 years | 8-10 hours |
| Adults | 18+ years | 7-9 hours |
Sleep improvement leads to improved Executive Functions (E.F)
Executive functions include inhibition, shifting attention, emotional regulation, working memory, motivation, organisation and planning skills.
Executive function is vulnerable to sleep disturbances. Research tells us that the more a child’s sleep improves, the better the child’s global executive functioning. This impacts learning, behaviour and social skills.
For more information contact Brainfit Kids on (03) 9850 3063 to see how we can help your child achieve better sleep!
