This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Sleeping (difficulty in settling)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Difficulty in settling at night is a common problem in preschool age children and has a prevalence of 10-20% (1)

Possible causes of this problem include:

  • fears of the dark
  • ordinary developmental separation anxiety
  • inadvertent overstimulation
  • displaced sleep/wake cycle
  • lack of routine

It is important to inform the parents that problems with children having difficulty in settling at night are common. Also they must be informed that the condition can sometimes be difficult to solve and there are no guaranteed short cuts to resolution.

Reference:

  • Hill P. Sleep Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence. in Current Approaches: sleep disorders. Eds Horne J A, Page M L. Duphar Laboratories. 20-39.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.