Night sleep in toddlers

A regular restful sleep for a recommended time affects the quality of life and psychic/physical health and prevents cognitive, emotional, and somatic disorders. Meanwhile, the rate of nocturnal awakenings among toddlers is 20–66%. This paper reviews current data on night sleep in toddlers. Techniques for assessing sleep duration in children are addressed. Research findings demonstrate that the most important causes of sleep disturbances are breastfeeding, mother’s anxiety and depression, and sleeping with parents. Sleeping with parents is not only a culturological feature but also indicates potential problems in the family being a means of compensating for the lack of partner intimacy and family relations. Factors affecting sleep transition and sleep quality (including the specifics of food intake) are discussed. It was demonstrated that amino acids are important for falling asleep and sleep regulation. A high-carbohydrate diet is also beneficial. KEYWORDS: night sleep, toddlers, nocturnal awakenings, sleeping with parents, nutrition. FOR CITATION: Dubrovskaya M.I., Ryazanova O.V., Netrebenko O.K. et al. Night sleep in toddlers. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2021;4(2):173–177. DOI: 10.32364/2618-8430-2021-4-2-173-177.