Tips For Better Sleeping with Cerebral Palsy

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Cerebral palsy causes various symptoms, from spastic movements to hearing loss to an inability to walk and difficulty sleeping. The usual culprits for trouble sleeping in children with cerebral palsy are things like seizures, muscle spasms, pain, difficulty breathing, or gastrointestinal upset. Tips for better sleeping with cerebral palsy include managing symptoms, getting exercise, and instituting a calming bedtime routine.

What Are Sleep Disorders in Cerebral Palsy?

There are many ways cerebral palsy can prevent a child from sleeping. In many cases, the issue is severe enough that the child’s primary care provider can diagnose a sleeping disorder. Many children with cerebral palsy suffer from one or more sleeping disturbances.[1]

For example, sleep apnea is a condition characterized by stopping and starting breathing throughout the night while asleep.[2] It can be a dangerous condition and is often accompanied by snoring.

Even if a child with cerebral palsy does not have sleep apnea, their sleep can be disrupted by several factors. Muscle spasms, which are extremely common in cerebral palsy, are disruptive and make falling asleep challenging.

A child with cerebral palsy who cannot move easily may get uncomfortable during the night but be unable to shift position. Cerebral palsy can also cause chronic pain, which interferes with sleep.

Controlling Cerebral Palsy to Sleep Well

The number one, most important thing that parents can do to help their child sleep better is to treat and manage the symptoms of cerebral palsy. A child who is not getting proper treatment is likely to be more uncomfortable and less able to sleep. For example, if your child cannot fall asleep at night because of muscle spasms, the solution may be as simple as a muscle relaxant before bed.

Of course, treating and managing cerebral palsy is far from straightforward. Even with the best care, a child may still struggle to sleep at night. Medications may cause side effects or fail to work well enough.

Therapies may help a little, but not enough to make a whole night’s sleep easy. In addition to managing cerebral palsy symptoms, parents can do several other things to help their children sleep through the night.

Start with a Sleep Diary

A great place to start is using a sleep diary to pinpoint the problems causing your child to have poor sleep patterns.

Your child may not be able to tell you exactly what is wrong. Keep a record for a couple of weeks of everything related to your child’s sleep:

• Frequency and timing of naps
• Bedtimes
• How long it takes to fall asleep
• Anything they ate before bed
• The process of getting ready for bed
• When and which medications your child takes.

Record anything you think is relevant, and you may start to see a pattern. For instance, you may realize that your bedtime routine is stressful or that your child eats a snack that has too much sugar before bed. Even if you can’t find the problem in your notes, a sleep specialist may be able to and can use the information to help your child.

Get Exercise Every Day

Exercise is an excellent way for anyone to sleep better and more readily. Ensure your child gets adequate physical activity daily, even if their movements are restricted because of cerebral palsy.

Any activity you can add to the child’s day will help. It could even include therapy that helps treat cerebral palsy, such as physical therapy, aqua therapy, targeted stretching, going for a walk, or using the wheelchair more throughout the day.

Encourage a Healthy Diet

Exercise will relax your child, but eating well will also help them feel better. Children with cerebral palsy are especially at risk of having poor nutrition because many have difficulty eating and swallowing.

If you are not sure if your child is getting the right nutrition, work with a dietician or nutritionist to help you develop a meal plan that takes your child’s condition into account. If eating is difficult for your child because of problems with swallowing, have multiple smaller meals every day instead of three larger meals. This makes it easier for your child.

Create a Calming Bedtime Routine

Having a routine before going to sleep is a great strategy for someone of any age, regardless of their medical conditions.

A routine gets you into the mood for sleep; over time, your mind and body adjust and start to get sleepy as you go through this routine. This is especially important for a child struggling to sleep because of cerebral palsy.

Restrict your child’s use of anything stimulating for a couple of hours before bed as part of the routine. This includes video games and other electronic devices. Replace these with reading a book together.

Other elements of a relaxing bedtime routine may include a hot bath, slow stretching exercises, or time spent together just quietly talking.

Make the Bed Comfortable

A child with cerebral palsy has more trouble than most children getting comfortable in any setting, including a bed. If your child is severely disabled, speak with your primary care provider or physical therapist to determine what body position is most comfortable.

Use pillows and comfortable bedding to help reinforce the position and make the bed more comfortable. Keep the temperature in the bedroom cool, and turn off all lights before bed.

Talk to Your Child’s Doctor

Sleeping well is important for your child’s health, but it may be a struggle. You can take many steps to help your child sleep better, but if these measures still don’t work, speak to your primary care provider. There may be another underlying medical problem preventing your child from sleeping.