Doctors will be able to use the data to reassure parents about the big range in children's sleep patterns. Source: News Limited
SLEEP-deprived parents may soon have a way to work out if their child is getting adequate amounts of shut eye.
For the first time Murdoch Childrens Research Institute has tracked the sleeping patterns of 10,000 children aged four months to nine years.
Researchers found a huge range across all age groups in normal sleep duration, bed time and wake time across all age groups.
The number of hours spent sleeping in a 24 hour period fell from 14 hours at four to six months to 10 hours at nine years of age.
This was mainly due to children going to bed later and less day sleeps.
There was also a steady decline in the length of time children spent awake when they woke up at night.
Lead researcher MCRI Dr Anna Price said that existing sleep guidelines were based on opinion rather than scientific evidence.
Doctors will be able to use the data to reassure parents about the big range in children's sleep patterns.
Dr Price said the next step was to use this information to determine optimal sleeping patterns for children.
Sleep problems are a key burden on families with the average Australian family spending $380 on professional help in the first six months of their child's life.
"We know that if children are experiencing sleep problems both the kids and their parents are at risk of poorer health and well being," Dr Price said.
Victorian father Cale Wilkinson said all three of his boys had difficulty sleeping.
He said an evidence based guide for what was normal for their age would have helped alleviate their anxiety.
"There were many nights where my wife and I would lie awake wondering what's level of sleep was normal."
The analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children data found a difference in sleeping hours of more than eight hours in a 24 hour period in some children.
For instance some babies slept for 10 hours in 24 hours and others were getting up to 18 hours of shut eye.
The study also found that despite parent's perception, the number of times a child woke up at night was quite low from infancy to nine years, suggesting that it was the length of time they were awake rather than the number of times they woke up that contributed to sleep problems.
The research, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal, was based on a time diary by parents.
Have your say
Add your comment on this story