Why is my 4 year old fighting sleep? (2023)

Is it normal for a 4 year old to fight sleep?

It's normal for your toddler to fight sleep — there's too much going on! But besides the normal drive to push boundaries, there are many specific reasons why your toddler won't sleep or wakes up crying in her sleep, including: Too much screen time.

Your preschooler may be fighting sleep simply because they need time to check in with you at the end of their day. Especially if you work long hours yourself, allot some time before bed to chat with them about goings-on at preschool and to get the scoop on the latest dramas in their social life.

Start with a calming bedtime routine. Then offer a comfort object, such as a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Turn on a night light or leave the bedroom door open if it will help your child feel better. Make sure your child is safe and well and leave the room.

Four-year-olds should ideally get between 10-and 13 hours of sleep, including naps. If your child has dropped the nap, aim for a 6 pm -8 pm bedtime. If your child still naps, you can move the rest closer to 8 pm. Make sure you've set up a bedtime routine for your child.

Children aged 3-5 years need 10-13 hours of sleep a night. Some might also have a day nap of about an hour. Sometimes preschoolers can take a while to settle and get to sleep. This is because they're busy thinking about the day even after they go to bed.

It's likely that they're feeling some separation anxiety, which can show up at bedtime as well. Often seen anywhere from 8 to 18 months, your baby may fight sleep because they don't want you to leave.

When sleep is attempted when a child is overtired, their body experiences a chemical response. This response is cortisol and adrenaline to the system that just has two main jobs: it makes it hard to go asleep and it can also make it hard to stay asleep.

Some common sleep disorders have been identified and included as childhood sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias, behavioral insomnia, delayed sleep phase disorder, and restless legs syndrome [18].

Is it normal for a 4 year old to not want to sleep alone?

Sometimes bedtime fears can be part of a bigger problem with anxiety that might need professional attention, but usually, the answer is no. Every child is afraid to sleep alone sometimes. Most kids who develop chronic anxious sleep patterns do so because a habit starts and gets perpetuated.

Drinking a warm beverage

Milk, for instance, has tryptophan, and green tea has theanine, both of which may help sleep, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Other herbal teas, like chamomile and peppermint, can also promote sleep in kids by calming their minds and stomachs.

Toddlers often refuse to snooze during the day—you can blame their newfound sense of independence and changing sleep needs—but most kids aren't truly ready to give up naps for good until around age 5. If you let your child skip theirs, they may be too overtired to sleep well at night.

This phenomenon is pretty common and is known as bedtime resistance, but may go by the unwieldy term “behavioral insomnia of childhood, limit setting type”. Kids with this problem tend to range in age from 2-8 years of age.

They've got separation anxiety

This is common around 8-10 months as babies work out that they're separate from you – and that bedtime means saying goodbye. Even some babies who have been good sleepers until now can suddenly start fighting sleep. This is a developmental phase they go through, and you can't change it.

Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and wake up around 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., just as they did when they were younger. At age 3, most children are still napping, while at age 5, most are not. Naps gradually become shorter, as well. New sleep problems do not usually develop after age 3.

Sixty percent of four-year-olds still nap. However, by five years of age, most children no longer need naps, with less than 30% of children that age still taking them. The number decreases even more by age six, where less than 10% of children nap. Nearly all children stop napping by seven years of age.

Once your little one is no longer napping in the day, they will need an early night, especially if they are at daycare or school, so don't be afraid to bring bedtime even earlier if needed - anytime between 6-7pm is fine.

You can set the stage for your child to sleep but you cannot force sleep to happen. Accepting this will help you be more relaxed! As much as we would all love to have the power to force our child (or even ourselves!) to sleep when it is time, it just isn't possible.

Do smart kids have a hard time sleeping?

Results indicated that although gifted students did trend toward experiencing more sleep disturbance, when compared to non-gifted students, no significant differences were found in mean bedtime, hours slept, sleeping problems, or use of electronic devices before bedtime.

This means you may be up around the clock feeding your baby for the first few months. This is normal and expected. If your baby is sucking on their fist, rooting, or licking their lips, they might be fighting sleep because of hunger. Be sure you know your baby's hunger cues so you can rule hunger out.

Up to 70% of children with ADHD suffer from problems with their sleep. Almost half the parents of a child with ADHD say that their child has moderate to serious sleep problems. Children with ADHD may have behavioural sleep problems or medically-based sleep problems.

What's the Connection Between ADHD and Sleep? Beginning around puberty, people with ADHD are more likely to experience shorter sleep time, problems falling asleep and staying asleep, and a higher risk of developing a sleep disorder. Nightmares⁵ are also common in children with ADHD, especially those with insomnia.

Several factors affect sleep quality in children including genetics, sleep habits, medical problems, parents/caregiver factors, screen time and the child's environment. These factors are inter-related and dynamic.

ADHD in children may present through symptoms including inattentiveness, impulsivity, hyperactivity, fidgeting, excessive talking, trouble waiting turn, and difficulty following direction.

Feelings and behaviour

At this age, preschoolers are exploring and learning to express motions. They do this in many ways – for example, by talking, using gestures, making noises and playing. Preschoolers also like to be around people. Your child might want to please and be like preschool-age friends.

Many children will respond to a low dose (0.5 mg or 1 mg) when taken 30 to 90 minutes before bedtime. Most children who do benefit from melatonin―even those with ADHD―don't need more than 3 to 6 mg of melatonin. Always talk with your pediatrician about the proper dose and timing of melatonin.

The Biology of Sleep

There's a biological reason why children with ADHD tend to sleep less than kids without the condition: Many of the same regions of the brain regulate both attention and sleep. A child who has attention problems is likely to have sleep problems, as well.

How do you stop a sleepy fight?

Parasomnias are common in childhood; sleepwalking, sleep talking, confusional arousals, and sleep terrors tend to occur in the first half of the night, whereas nightmares are more common in the second half of the night.

Common sleep disorders in children include sleep apnea and insomnia³, as well as parasomnias, which are disruptive sleep-related behaviors such as sleepwalking and night terrors.

Several variables combine to make up the sleep environment, including light, noise, and temperature. By being attuned to factors in your sleep environment that put you at ease, and eliminating those that may cause stress or distraction, you can set yourself up for the best possible sleep.