Sleep problems: when your child has a health problem

You can find more general advice about sleep in children.

Sleep while your child is in hospital

While your child is staying in hospital their usual sleep routine may become disrupted due to the daily schedule of the ward. Wards can be a strange place to sleep with noisy machines and ward staff moving around to make essential checks on your child and other patients.

Tip 1: Sleep diary

While your child is in hospital, it might be helpful to keep a sleep diary. This would help you to understand your child’s sleep patterns by recording them.

Tip 2: Sleep routine

Try to establish a consistent routine around sleep. It may not be possible to have the same routine as at home but having a set bedtime and making time for calm play and reading a bedtime story can be very useful.

A good routine should include:

• Time for your child to calm down from the day’s activities before sleeping.
• Sleep cues, things that let your child know it is time for sleep.

Here are some things that may help your child with their sleep routine while they are in the hospital:

• If possible, bring in items from home that your child associates with sleep, for example, their favourite pyjamas or soft toy. Ask nursing staff if you can bring in your child’s own pillow or bedding. In some cases, due to medical care or infection risk this may not be possible.
• Hospital wards are often well lit and sometimes it can be difficult to tell what time of day or night it is. Ask nursing staff, where possible, if it is okay to turn down the lights at night and increase the lighting during daytime hours.
• If your child’s room has a window, try to make sure that you open the curtains and let in some natural light during the daytime. It is particularly helpful if you have exposure to natural light before midday.
• For older children, you may consider using a sleep mask which can be used to cover their eyes and increase darkness at night time.
• Having to take medication at specific times may also affect sleep. Speak to your child’s medical team about their sleep routine and how medicine that needs to be given could be made to fit in with this. Sometimes this can be tricky as some medication may affect the sleep routine.

Tip 3: Relaxation

Here are some relaxation techniques that you might want to teach your child. 

• Deep breathing. Try taking long deep breaths through the nose. Count to five as your child breathes in, then breathes out slowly for the count of five.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. This involves tensing and relaxing muscles in turn.
• Imagery. Encourage your child to imagine somewhere they find relaxing. Help them to build this picture by including all their senses, sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

You can find more information about relaxation in our guide on relaxation.

Sleep after returning home from hospital

Often the sleep pattern will return to normal when your child is starting to get better or when your child returns home. Sometimes sleep patterns may not return as quickly as you may like, particularly if your child has ongoing pain or discomfort related to their health or if they have been in hospital a long time.

Sometimes after coming home from hospital, children may experience nightmares or bad dreams. Dreams can be a way for children and adults to deal with their worries and work out ways of managing them. If your child is waking in the night due to distressing dreams, then they need to be comforted and made to feel safe. It can be useful to remind children where they are and that you are with them. In the morning you could consider getting your child to draw or talk to you about their dream. Often dreams can seem very real for children. They may feel that they are re-experiencing things that have happened to them.

Parent and carer sleep

Having a child with a health problem or who has had to stay in hospital can be stressful and worrying. Parents and carers may experience difficulties with their own sleep at times.

Sleep can be affected by:

• Anxiety – This can make our bodies more tense and alert, causing difficulties with falling or staying asleep.
• Worries – If you are experiencing worries at night, it can make it difficult to ‘switch off’ which makes it harder to fall asleep.

Our surroundings can impact sleep. If you are away from home, for example, on a ward or in another hospital accommodation, sleep can be affected by things such as:

• Disrupted routines – for example, reduced levels of physical activity or unpredictable sleeping times
• Changes in diet – for example, more caffeine or different foods

Having better sleep can help you cope better and make you more able to support your child. For more advice about sleep for adults.

Summary

Having a health problem or a stay in hospital can have an impact on children’s sleep. Maintaining a consistent sleep routine where possible is important in your child’s recovery. Keeping a sleep diary and teaching your child relaxation skills can help improve sleep difficulties.

If you have ongoing concerns about your child’s sleep you can contact your child’s health visitor, GP or medical team for advice. Parents may also find that their own sleep is affected by their child’s health condition and using some of the sleep tips in this leaflet can help with this.