Sleep Issues in babies, toddlers and older children

Sleep issues in babies, toddlers, and older children can sometimes be linked to a poorly integrated nervous system, which may be a result of a heightened state of alertness due to a triggered sympathetic nervous system, also known as their fight/flight response. This heightened state can be related to their life in the womb, their birth experience and the subsequent impact on the early setting of their vagal nerve tone.

Key Concepts

1. Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS):

• The SNS is part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the body's "fight or flight" response. When triggered, it can cause increased heart rate, elevated stress hormones, and heightened alertness.

• In children, especially if the SNS is overactive, it can lead to difficulties in calming down, increased anxiety, and disrupted sleep patterns.

2. Vagus Nerve and Vagal Tone:

• The vagus nerve is a critical part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and digestion. Good vagal tone (the ability of the vagus nerve to regulate bodily functions) is associated with a calm, well-regulated nervous system.

• Poor vagal tone may result in difficulties in calming down, poor digestion, and sleep issues. A stressful or traumatic birth experience can negatively impact vagal tone.

3. Impact of Birth Experience:

• The birth experience can have a profound impact on a child’s nervous system. Stressful deliveries, such as those involving emergency interventions, C-sections, or prolonged labour, can activate the SNS in newborns.

• Parents not appearing to being heard in the moment and so often at critical times during the management of a labour, delivery and the attending to the newborn.  This can have a stressful impact on a mother and her baby

• This early activation may lead to an overactive SNS and underactive parasympathetic responses, leading to difficulties in regulating sleep and other functions such as shallow breathing, poor digestion and constipation.

4. Poorly Integrated Nervous System:

• A poorly integrated nervous system means that the balance between the SNS and the parasympathetic nervous system is disrupted. This can lead to a child being in a constant state of high alert, making it difficult for them to relax and fall asleep. This simply means that the child’s nervous system settings have been set too high! 

Symptoms in Children

• Babies: Difficulty settling, frequent waking, difficulty transitioning between sleep cycles, colic, constipation, feeding issues and irritability.

• Toddlers: Trouble falling asleep, frequent night waking, nightmares or night terrors, and hyperactivity before bedtime.

• Older Children: Anxiety, sleepwalking, sensitive to criticism, restless sleep, difficulty waking up, and fatigue during the day.

Management and Interventions

• Understanding the baby’s journey during pregnancy, delivery and birth 

• Facilitating the sharing of the mum’s and partner’s experiences with compassion and empathy as they connect with their wounding by facilitating the somato-emotional expression of their experiences 

• This allows us to hear and see things from the baby’s perspective 

• Regulating the Nervous System:

• Recognising the baby/child’s Baby Body Language cues for starters

• Assessing the baby and child’s skeletal and postural alignment and recognising where they hold tension patterns and restrictions in their body due to the compressional forces in the womb and at delivery, for example 

• Techniques to calm the SNS and enhance parasympathetic activity can help, such as deep breathing exercises, gentle massages, and maintaining a calm bedtime routine.

• Improving Vagal Tone:

• Activities like singing, humming, deep breathing, and specifically exhaling 

• Facilitating the baby/child’s neurodevelopmental sequence by allowing them to express their primitive reflex  movements can help improve vagal tone.

• Environmental Adjustments:

• Creating a calming sleep environment with low lighting, white noise, and a consistent routine can help ease the child into sleep

• Massaging your baby and child at night before sleep can desensitise tight muscles and restricted joints. This helps to improve breathing and settle their nervous system 

• Parents becoming more aware of their own emotions and the impact that their subconscious traumas, fears and anxieties can have on their child can be very empowering, particularly for a mum who wants to interrupt generational trauma patterns 

• Therapeutic Interventions:

• Working with a pre and perinatal baby therapist; or a paediatric occupational therapist or a practitioner trained in neurodevelopmental therapy can help address underlying nervous system imbalances.

• Craniosacral therapy is very helpful for newborns, babies and children by addressing imbalances in the nervous system related to birth trauma.

• Assessing how a baby and child have progressively integrated their primitive reflexes (or not) is crucial 

• Parental Support:

• Education parents on how to interpret and read their baby and child’s Baby Body Language

• Educating parents on the importance of routine, gentle handling, and being aware of their own stress levels, which can impact their child's stress response, is crucial.

• Professional Consultation:

• For severe or persistent sleep issues, consultation with a paediatrician is recommended to rule out other medical conditions and to create a tailored plan for the child’s needs across professional disciplines.

Understanding and addressing these underlying nervous system issues can be key to improving sleep patterns and the overall well-being for the child.