WEGO Health

My toddler was up again last night with a cold. Every few hours he'd wake himself with a bout of coughing, and my husband and I took turns helping him fall back to sleep. Not the most restful night for any of us.

Lately, this is the extent of the sleeping difficulties at our house, but like everybody I have occasional bouts of sleeplessness – be they toddler- or stress-induced. According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders, approximately 40 million Americans suffer from some kind of sleep disorder, including insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome.

Just how do you know if you have a sleep disorder? How do they affect you? What can you do to help find some relief? these are some of the questions we'll look at on this blog. I was doing some research on the resources on sleep that our WEGO Health experts have put together, and found some good answers to these questions. Several experts collected articles from Helpguide.org to help explain the effects of disordered sleep.

I like Helpguide myself, because I feel like the information is never dumbed-down – you get a lot and can choose what is most important for you, but it's well-organized so it doesn't feel overwhelming. I'd love to hear what others think about this resource.

Now if only Helpguide could write a page for my toddler that would convince him that even if he is up at 3 in the morning, it is not the time to read The Cat in the Hat.

Tags: insomnia, sleep

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skaapie Comment by skaapie on January 30, 2009 at 5:18am
hi i dont have kids i wake up in the morning at three and can't go back to sleep its been like this for about 2 months now well my husband passed away in oct last year so now i feel like my life is falling apart
Sarah Comment by Sarah on April 4, 2008 at 2:51pm
I don't have children, it's ME that wakes up at 1am routinely every night. No matter what I've been doing, I am awake at 1am! I tried staying up until 1am to see if I could just alter my bedtime, but that only made me stay up later. Now I'm just getting used to it and staying in bed thinking calming (instead of the previously angry) thoughts. It's frustrating, but my body is just not getting it that 10pm is BEDTIME and it should sleep until 5am when the alarm goes off! LOL
Janeen Comment by Janeen on April 2, 2008 at 9:43am
Deanna, I've been there too and at 3 am The Cat In the Hat just isn't that fabulous. I hope your little feels better and sleeps through the night for you tonight. Like Felisha my children are older now (3.5 and 6) and it's rare to be kept up all night. But sometimes the little ones asthma gets triggered and he's up all night coughing and on the nebulizer. 3 am can seem like a very lonely time.
Felisha Griffin Comment by Felisha Griffin on April 2, 2008 at 9:13am
Deanna, I can definitely empathize. I have 3 young children, and I have spent my share of nights up caring for them; however, things have gotten much better since they are older. I'm actually able to get 8 hours of sleep these days. Helpguide is definitely a great resource, and they offer really great links for dealing with a number of health issues and concerns.
Toni Kistner Comment by Toni Kistner on April 2, 2008 at 2:21am
hey paula, are you finding any strategies for calming night terrors? what advice did your pediatrician give you - was it useful?

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