How to Keep The Kids Busy In the Dog Days Of Summer

Kids stuck at home this summer? Here's how to keep them busy

Dr Arif Khan, consultant pediatric neurologist and epileptologist, describes healthy and effective ways to keep your children busy this summer without excessive use of technology. -JR

Here are some tips to physically and mentally engage your children this summer while keeping a balance between entertainment and creative engagement:

1.) Structure the day or week with activities: Create a schedule each day so your child knows what to expect. For example, 9 to 10am: Bike riding or dog walk to the park. This type of structure works particularly well with children who have a lot of energy.  By creating plenty of activities in advance, you will reduce distractions, impulses, boredom, and ultimately depression and accidents.

2.) Encourage children to keep track of their activity: For children who spend several hours in front of a computer or TV screen, activity trackers might be the motivator they need to get moving. Activity trackers such as iBitz or the TupeloLife offer an 8-week after school programme where children can track of their steps and learn about the importance of being active every day.

3.) Keep children active and take advantage of summer camps: With so many different summer camps available for children during the school holidays, enrolling your child in a camp based on their preference, skills and interest is an option that can be very rewarding. Summer camps can help children build self-confidence and self-esteem by removing the kind of academic, athletic and social competition that shapes their lives in school. You can choose a camp that's focused on a sport or a special interest one that covers a broad spectrum of activities, including arts and crafts, social aspects and team games, encouraging children to socialize.

4.) Exercise their minds and get involved: Introducing children to creative activities that they might not necessarily have the time to do during the school year can be equally rewarding. From reading to cooking, here are some activities that can be explored by children and parents:
- Engage in Kitchen fun
- Set up free play games
- Organize family activity days
- Set a Bedtime

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The link between sleep and children's mental health is...complicated...

A study indicates that a link exists between children with sleep disorders and their mental health.

Toddlers who take a long time to fall asleep or wake up many times during the night have put many a desperate mom and dad to the test. Tired parents are often told that night waking is part of toddlerhood, and that it will soon pass on its own, but this is not the case for everyone.

Researchers at NTNU's Department of Psychology have conducted a comprehensive survey of nearly 1,000 toddlers that shows that serious sleep disorders in young children can have long-term consequences.

The study shows that four-year-olds with sleep disorders have a higher risk of developing symptoms of psychiatric problems as six-year-olds, compared with children who sleep soundly.

At the same time, four-year-olds with psychiatric symptoms have a greater risk of developing a sleep disorder as six-year-olds, compared with children who do not have these kind of symptoms.

Reciprocal relationship

"It is common for children to have periods when they sleep poorly, but for some children, the problems are so extensive that they constitute a sleep disorder. Our research shows that it is important to identify children with sleep disorders, so that remedial measures can be taken. Sleeping badly or too little affects a child's day-to-day functioning, but we are seeing that there are also long term repercussions," says Silje Steinsbekk, an Associate Professor and Psychologist in NTNU's Department of Psychology.

Her previous research on the relationship between sleep disorders and psychological problems in children has shown that four-year-olds with sleep disorders often also show symptoms of psychiatric problems.

The new study, which was recently published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, shows that the correlation between sleep disorders and psychiatric disorders is also found over time and that the relationship is reciprocal.

Thorough interviews and diagnoses

We know that 20-40 per cent of young children struggle with sleep in one way or another, but we lack data on how many of them are suffering from a diagnosable sleep disorder.

NTNU researchers conducted diagnostic interviews with the parents of the children participating in the study. The interview was based on the DSM-IV diagnostic manual, which contains the official diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.

One thousand four-year-olds participated in the study. Parents of around 800 of these children were interviewed again two years later. The comprehensive study is part of a longitudinal study in Trondheim that examines the incidence, progression and risk factors for the development of mental health problems in children. The project conducts follow-up visits with the children and their parents every other year.

"Previous studies of sleep problems in children have mainly used a questionnaire format, with questions like, "Does your child have trouble sleeping?" But what parents define as sleep problems will vary. In the diagnostic interview we ask parents questions until we are confident that we have enough information to assess whether a symptom is present or not. The information we've collected is more reliable than information obtained from the questionnaire," says Steinsbekk.

What comes first?

Can we say that poor sleep causes psychiatric problems -- or do psychiatric problems cause poor sleep? The findings from the study suggest that the relationship goes both ways.

One possible explanation for this reciprocity may be that both conditions are biologically determined, by common underlying genetics, for example.

Another explanation may be that insufficient sleep creates general functional impairment, and that the risk of other problems therefore increases -- in the same way that psychiatric symptoms often result in poorer everyday functioning, which in turn may negatively affect sleep.

Vicious cycle

Perhaps sleep disorders and mental health issues share the same risk factors. A child who shows signs of anxiety or a behavioural disorder may easily end up in a vicious cycle, where conflict with adults triggers anxiety and in turn leads to trouble falling asleep.

It may also be that difficult and negative thoughts steal both energy and sleep and make us restless and depressed if we fail to gain control over them.

"Given that so many children suffer from insomnia, and only just over half 'outgrow it,' it is critical for us to be able to provide thorough identification and good treatment. Perhaps early treatment of mental health problems can also prevent the development of sleep disorders, since psychiatric symptoms increase the risk of developing insomnia," says Steinsbekk, stressing that this is something that must be examined in further research.

Insomnia is most prevalent The study shows that insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder. Children who suffer from insomnia struggle with falling asleep and frequent waking. Insomnia was diagnosed in 16.6 per cent of the four-year-olds surveyed, and 43 per cent of these still had insomnia as six- year olds.

Insomnia in four-year olds increases the risk for symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD and behavioural problems as six-year-olds. After the researchers had taken into account the children's psychiatric symptoms at age four, the relationship between insomnia and ADHD disappeared.

Similarly, children who show symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD and behavioural disturbances as four-year-olds have a greater risk of developing insomnia as six-year-olds. When symptoms of insomnia at age four were adjusted for, the relationship between insomnia and anxiety disappeared.

Examples of other types of sleep disorders are hypersomnia, i.e. an extreme urge to sleep, and various cases of parasomnia, such as nightmares, night terrors and sleepwalking. These conditions are uncommon, and the study also shows that, with the exception of sleepwalking, they are shorter-lived.

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Getting to bed early helps mental health

Going to sleep early can help a person's mental health.

There are many benefits of going to bed early- and now, a team of researchers have found how this teeny tiny habit could have a positive impact on not just your physical health, but mental health as well.

Researchers from Binghamton University have found a possible connection between sleeping disorders and anxiety. It has been found that depression, anxiety, stress and obsessive compulsive disorders may cause heavy psychological traffic that could have an individual clinging too much to the past.

This new study, which took into consideration one hundred young adults, asked them to fill out questionnaires and carry out certain computerized tasks while the researchers assessed the extent of their obsessive behavior and thinking and worrying with respect to it. The study subject included individuals having different sleeping habits- some of them were night owls, while others had regular sleeping hours.

They found that individuals who slept less or went to bed late had signs of negative thinking as compared to those who slept early. While repetitive negative thinking isn’t a disorder as such, it does increase the risk of several anxiety disorders including depression and stress.

While the reason behind this phenomenon is unclear, scientists are making assumptions to decode it all. They have noted that sleeping late at night tends to disrupt the biological clock of the body, which also plays a negative impact on the levels of certain chemicals in our body.

These kinds of irregular sleeping patterns tend to upset the chemical production in the brain as well as other organs, even if you manage to get your much needed 8 hours of sleep a day.

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Sleep necessary for mental health and well-being

This article discusses how crucial good sleep is for a person's mental health and well-being, and the consequences of not having good quality sleep.

Having a good quality and restorative sleep is essential for one to be able to function well throughout the day. Failure to do so will lead to numerous impacts to health, both long- and short-term.

According to the Sleep Disorder Society Malaysia (SDSM) president Dr Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad Zahari, some of the short-term negative impacts include short attention span, memory recall and learning; while its long-term effects have long been associated with hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, weakened immune system, and cancer.

Dr Muhammad Muhsin added that sleep disorder can also increase the risk of accidents.

"People who suffer from insomnia are seven times more likely to become involved in an accident which then resulted in death or serious injury," he said at the launch of the `World Sleep Day Celebration and Sleep 2014 Conference' at Cititel Hotel, here, today.

He revealed that sleep disorder actually constitute a global epidemic that threatens health and quality of life for up to 45% of the world's population, thus it is essential for everyone to have a better understanding of sleep conditions.

"Sleep is a basic human need and it is crucial not only to our health and well-being, it also plays an important role in the metabolic regulation in children," said Dr Muhammad adding that SDSM is working closely with the relevant authorities, associations and organisations in improving the quality of service of sleep medicine.

"With regards to the quality service in sleep medicine, facilities such as sleep laboratory are vital. As our population grows, there is definitely a need to increase the number of sleep laboratory in public hospitals to cater to the need of the people." he added.

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