What Causes Insomnia In Children?

It’s heartbreaking to think of any child being ill with anything. Nobody wants their child to suffer but they especially don’t want their child to suffer from something like insomnia, which seems like it should be an adult-only condition. However, some things can cause insomnia in children.

Common Causes Insomnia In Children

Surprisingly, one of the leading causes of insomnia in children is an improper bedtime. Parents put their children to bed too late because they underestimate how much sleep a child actually needs to properly grow. This is especially common in households that are extremely busy: kids are rushed around, trying to get a lot accomplished during the day, and when they finally get around to going to bed (after homework of course) it’s far later than it should be and they sleep poorly and wake up in the middle of the night.

Of course, there are medical conditions that could be causing insomnia in a child. While it’s uncommon, some children do have unusually high levels of stress and anxiety. This translates to not being able to fall asleep at night or not being able to stay at sleep. If you suspect your child is suffering from stress or anxiety, try to get to the bottom of it; the stress or anxiety are most likely stemming from something that has to do with school, whether it’s homework or class work or even problems with their friends. There are also physical causes of insomnia like illnesses but once a child recovers their insomnia should pass.

Asthma can also cause insomnia in a child. Asthma symptoms usually get worse at night which means children may struggle to breathe in their sleep. This will usually wake a child up, causing insomnia because it occurs over a long period of time. Eczema is common in children and can cause insomnia as well – after all, who can sleep when they’re going insane from being itchy?

Medications can also cause insomnia in children. It’s very common for children to be taking stimulants to treat ADHD, for instance, and those stimulants can then cause insomnia. Anticonvulsants are also a common cause of insomnia in children for various reasons as well.

High levels of caffeine is also a leading cause of insomnia in children – make sure kids don’t have anything with either caffeine or sugar in it for a few hours before bedtime so that by the time they are ready for bed, the caffeine or sugar has had time to pass through their system.

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