CDC: October is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome awareness month

About 3,500 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year in the United States. These deaths, labeled Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID), are investigated thoroughly to determine their causes. About half of SUIDs are determined to be the result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). 

SIDS is the sudden death of an infant less than 12 months old which can't be explained following autopsy, examination of the scene, and review of medical history. SIDS is the leading cause of death for infants aged 1 to 12 months.  

Other causes of SUID include Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed (ASSB) due to accidental suffocation or strangulation by soft bedding, by "overlay" (when another person rolls on top of or against the infant), by wedging or entrapment (when an infant is trapped two objects, or by strangulation (such as when an infant's head and neck get caught between crib railings).

The most important takeway is that it is critical that caregivers practice safe sleeping practices with their infants to prevent unnecessary deaths by SUID or SIDS. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its Safe to Sleep campaign (formerly known as the Back to Sleep campaign), which offers outreach and education activities aimed at reducing infant death from SIDS and other sleep-related causes. Learn more here

Today's #Sleeptember ACTION ITEM --- VOTE TODAY! for Steve Tompa, sleep activist and Scholar of Change hopeful

Walden University is running its annual contest, Scholars of Change, and SleepyHeadCENTRAL would like to ask you, dear readers, to help us to help out a fellow sleep activist friend in his efforts to bring sleep health awareness to families everywhere.

Steven Tompa is a sleep technologist who is also a doctoral candidate at Walden University in Minneapolis, where he hopes to graduate with a PhD in Health Services with concentration in Healthcare Administration next winter.

#SLEEPTEMBER

His particular specialty is pediatric sleep health and it's Tompa's goal to help to inspire parents to seek help for their children's sleeping problems. He speaks before parent groups regularly to drive home the message that sleep, like a healthy diet and regular exercise, is part of the three pillars of health for children everywhere. His efforts matter in a world where sleep is still on the cutting edge of science and the world still doesn't quite understand how critical good sleep is to quality overall health.

First prize is $7500, which Tompa plans to donate to a children's charity. Let's help him make this a reality: Check out his contest entry video, "Dreaming Social Change: The Science of Sleep" here, and make sure you click on the button to vote for Steven!

DEADLINE FOR VOTING IS SEPTEMBER 29!!!

SLEEP STUFF || Books about Sleep

Here are three titles you might be interested in. Please note: These titles have not been reviewed by the curator. Please visit your favorite review websites if you want feedback on them. Titles are listed as suggestions only. If you read any of these books and wish to share your review of them, please contact the curator at sleepyheadcentral@gmail.com. 


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Bright Eyed: Insomnia and Its Cultures [paperback, ePub, PDF]
by RM Vaughan
Category: Nonfiction, Health, Social Science
Publisher: Coach House Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2015
Pages/Price: 136pp, $14.95 for print edition
ISBN-10: 1770564098
ISBN-13: 9781770564091

From the publisher: "In shutting out shut­-eye in favour of productivity, have we created an insomnia culture?

For forty years, RM Vaughan has been fighting, and failing, to get his forty winks each night. He’s not alone, not by any stretch.

More and more studies highlight the health risks of undersleeping, yet we have never been asked to do more, and for longer. And we can’t stop thinking that a lack of sleep is heroic: snoozing is a kind of laziness, after all. But why, when we know more about the value of sleep, are we obsessed with twenty­-four-­hour workdays and deliberate sleep deprivation?

Working outward from his own experience, Vaughan explores this insomnia culture we’ve created, predicting a cultural collision — will we soon have to legislate rest, as France has done? — and wondering about the cause-­and-­effect model of our shorter attention spans. Does the fact that we are almost universally underslept change how our world works? We know it’s an issue with, say, pilots and truck drivers, but what about artists — does an insomnia culture change creativity? And what are the long-term cultural consequences of this increasing sacrifice for the ever-elusive goal of ‘total productivity’?"

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Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child [audio download or CD] by Dr. Marc Weissbluth
Category: Nonfiction, Family Health, Self Help
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Hours/Price: 16hr 45min, $25.95/free with Audible.com 30-day trial; Audio CD for $12.94
[Download] ASIN: B00E63PEXA
[CD] ISBN-10: 1770564098
[CD] ISBN-13: 9781770564091

From the publisher: "One of the country’s leading researchers updates his revolutionary approach to solving–and preventing–your children’s sleep problems.

Here Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a distinguished pediatrician and father of four, offers his groundbreaking program to ensure the best sleep for your child. In Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, he explains with authority and reassurance his step-by-step regime for instituting beneficial habits within the framework of your child’s natural sleep cycles. This valuable sourcebook contains brand new research that:

• Pinpoints the way daytime sleep differs from night sleep and why both are important to your child
• Helps you cope with and stop the crybaby syndrome, nightmares, bedwetting, and more
• Analyzes ways to get your baby to fall asleep according to his internal clock–naturally
• Reveals the common mistakes parents make to get their children to sleep–including the inclination to rock and feed
• Explores the different sleep cycle needs for different temperaments–from quiet babies to hyperactive toddlers
• Emphasizes the significance of a nap schedule

Rest is vital to your child’s health growth and development. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child outlines proven strategies that ensure good, healthy sleep for every age. Advises parents dealing with teenagers and their unique sleep problems."

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Sleepwalker: The Mysterious Makings and Recovery of a Somnambulist [hardcover] by Kathleen Frazier; foreword by Mark Mahowald
Category: Nonfiction, Memoir
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Publication Date: September 8, 2015 - Preorder now
Pages/Price: 240pp, $24.99
ISBN-10: 1634502353
ISBN-13: 978-1634502351

From the publisher: "Every evening, each of us, alone and in the light of our own circumstances, surrenders to sleep—or tries to.

Sleep is nothing if not mysterious. A practice in letting go. A measure of trust.

Growing up the good girl in an Irish American family full of drinkers and terrible sleepers, Kathleen Frazier was twelve when her seemingly innocent sleepwalking turned dangerous. After her brother’s first suicide attempt, Kathleen’s sleepwalking incidents spiraled into a sort of nighttime mirroring of her brother’s waking pain. By day, she was a popular, A+ student, the star of her high school musical. At night, she both longed for and dreaded sleep.

Frazier moved to Manhattan in the 1980s, hoping for a life in the theater. What she got was a run of sleepwalking performances, sometimes with a shocked audience, sometimes solo. Efforts to abate her malady with drinking failed miserably. She became promiscuous looking for nighttime companionship. Could a bed partner save her from flinging herself down a flight of stairs or out an open window? Danger heightened in a city burgeoning with AIDS. Exhaustion stalked her. Through such a dark night of the soul, would she ever find rest, let alone love?

This is the journey Frazier illuminates in her intimate memoir, Sleepwalker. While highlighting her quest to beat her sleep terrors and insomnia, this is ultimately a story of health, hope, and redemption."


____________________________________________________

SleepyHeadCENTRAL strongly encourages people with ongoing sleep health problems to approach a medical professional to determine appropriate differential diagnoses and treatment. This post, like all other posts on SHC, is not intended to substitute for medical advice.

See SLEEP STUFF series main disclosure notifications here regarding any products discussed on this blog. 

WISDOM OF SLEEP: Dr. Mary Carskadon on our sleep-deprived teenagers

Mary Carskadon is a well-known American sleep researcher 

who has made a career of studying pediatric sleep issues. She
is a strong 

advocate for later school start times. She serves in
multiple 

roles, as 

Professor in the Department of Psychiatry
and Human 

Behavior at 

the Warren Alpert Medical School of
Brown University 

and as the 

Director of the Sleep and
Chronobiology Research Lab 

at E.P. 

Bradley Hospital.

"Kids are too sleepy to learn well. They're too sleepy to be happy. And they're at great risk for such things as traffic accidents."

"This can put their circadian rhythm, or biological clock, in conflict with the school bell. ... And their fatigue often leads to behavior problems that contribute to a negative overall school performance and experience."

"It's a double whammy. They're not getting enough sleep to recharge their brains, and we're asking their brains to be on duty at the wrong time."

~ Mary Carskadon

The SleepyHeadCENTRAL Monthly giveaway happens tonight!!! Are you eligible? It's free! Don't miss out!

Subscribe to the SHC free opt-in monthly newsletter to become eligible to win monthly giveaways!

The monthly newsletter offers subscribers free sleep product giveaways; the very latest in sleep news; links to monthly sleep health polls; connections to public sleep health opportunities; and access to sleep health awareness campaigns.

Also, this is an easy way to engage with the curator directly!

SHC is proud to offer this adorable helper for parents struggling to help their children banish their fear of the dark:

The Monster Cuff (pictured right) is a soft, washable wristband that children can wear to empower themselves against the things that go bump in the night. From the maker, BabyHoot--Handmade Things for Baby:

"Does your child have trouble sleeping with monsters under the bed? Or maybe they live in the closet...

These super comfy, monster cuff bracelets are designed to make bedtime a breeze. Wear them on your wrist while you sleep to keep those monsters under your bed away so your little one can sleep through the night! (and so can you!)

Cuffs are double snap closure, made from the softest cotton blends to make them extra snuggly to sleep in. We make them to fit most kids, ages 2-100! (**Most Monster Cuff's fit ages 1-10, we have two snaps on each bracelet to adjust to a comfy fit.)"

Need more tips for helping junior to overcome his or her fear of the closet monster or the demon under the bed? Check out this recent post at SHC.

---

HOW THE MONTHLY GIVEAWAY WORKS

The winner will be selected randomly from the full subscription list as it exists as of 11:59pm on the last day of every month. One winner picked monthly. Each monthly winner will be contacted through email; winner must reply to email and provide mailing address in order to win. Each winner announced in the next month's newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND WIN THE MONSTER CUFF!

MONSTERS OF SLEEP || Sleep Hygiene Tips for helping junior overcome fear of the dark

"There's a Monster Under The Bed" by Cody Hom.

Being afraid of the dark is no laughing matter to a child. And as a parent, you will see the deficits that come from the residual sleep deprivation that occurs night after night, all day long. Grumpy, groggy children with low energy are not fun to live with, and if they are school aged, this can result in behavioral and learning problems down the line. 

Here are some tips for helping your youngster address and conquer their fears of the things that go bump in the night.

• Figure out what your child is afraid of. Listen and acknowledge that the fear is real... to your child. It doesn't matter if it's not real to you.
• If you can, make the dark a friendly space. Give them a flashlight to shine under the sheets. Sing soft lullabies in the dark. Read books to them about kids who overcome their own fears of the dark. 
• Whether you put stock in the creatures your child imagines is controversial. Some say you should not acknowledge the monster under the bed or in the closet. Others say that giving your children tools to make them feel safe (like the adorable Monster Cuff, this month's subscriber giveaway) is more useful that ignoring their fears. These may be as simple as their usual security objects or installing a friendly nightlight. Use your judgment.
• Whatever you choose, make sure your child knows they are safe, but be vigilant about keeping them tucked into their own bed. This may be the only way to break them of the anxiety they get while sleeping in their own room.
• Identify any problems your child may have with self-confidence. Do they have any anxiety that needs to be addressed during the day? 
• Make sure your bedtime rituals are positive, calming and built around reducing light and noise so that they can ratchet down their own behavior enough to relax and fall asleep. 
• It seems obvious, but avoid scary stories, movies and games an hour before bedtime. Limit the fear factor that creeps into their psyches right before bed. Even the content of commercials can be suggestive of things that go bump in the night, however tongue in cheek they may be. Pre-school aged children don't often know how to discern the real from "the pretend."
• TV in general may be something to avoid for the time being. Not only are scary movies and shows a problem, but so are more realistic shows depicting criminals breaking into houses or movies showing other kids who have fears at night.
• It's always good to reward positive behavior positively. Favorite breakfast served the morning after a night all by themselves could be enough motivation for some kids to overcome their fears of the dark. Tell them you're proud of them for staying in bed. Make sure you listen any time they bring up their fears during the day.
• Identify any stressors during the day, or any traumatic experiences, which may be at the root cause for their fears. You may need to speak with a counselor or doctor to help smooth over these worries, but ultimately, some anxieties do require therapy.

MONSTERS OF SLEEP || October's Subscriber Giveaway THIS FRIDAY! Monster Cuff banishes the things that go bump in the night

The Snuggly Monster Cuff by BabyHoot, an adorable way to help kids feel safe so they can fall asleep.

SHC is proud to offer this fantastic solution for helping kids to fall asleep at night: 

THE SNUGGLY MONSTER CUFF! It scares away the monsters while you sleep! The cuff offered here is made from limited edition, blue and orange monster fabric!

From the maker, BabyHoot--Handmade Things for Baby: "Does your child have trouble sleeping with monsters under the bed? Or maybe they live in the closet...

These super comfy, monster cuff bracelets are designed to make bedtime a breeze. Wear them on your wrist while you sleep to keep those monsters under your bed away so your little one can sleep through the night! (and so can you!)

Cuffs are double snap closure, made from the softest cotton blends to make them extra snuggly to sleep in. We make them to fit most kids, ages 2-100! (**Most Monster Cuff's fit ages 1-10, we have two snaps on each bracelet to adjust to a comfy fit.)

To see more sleep-promoting products from BabyHoot, click here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO QUALIFY TO WIN THIS ADORABLE SLEEP AID!

HOW TO WIN: Subscribe to the SHC free opt-in monthly newsletter to become eligible to win monthly giveaways! The monthly newsletter offers subscribers free sleep product giveaways; the very latest in sleep news; links to monthly sleep health polls; connections to public sleep health opportunities; and access to sleep health awareness campaigns. Also, this is an easy way to engage with the curator directly!

HOW THE MONTHLY GIVEAWAY WORKS: The winner will be selected randomly from the full subscription list as it exists as of 11:59pm on the last day of every month. One winner picked monthly. Each monthly winner will be contacted through email; winner must reply to email and provide mailing address in order to win. Each winner announced in the next month's newsletter.

MONSTERS OF SLEEP || October's Subscriber Giveaway banishes the things that go bump in the night

The Snuggly Monster Cuff by BabyHoot, an adorable way to help kids feel safe so they can fall asleep.

SHC is proud to offer this fantastic solution for helping kids to fall asleep at night: 

THE SNUGGLY MONSTER CUFF! It scares away the monsters while you sleep! The cuff offered here is made from limited edition, blue and orange monster fabric!

From the maker, BabyHoot--Handmade Things for Baby: "Does your child have trouble sleeping with monsters under the bed? Or maybe they live in the closet...

These super comfy, monster cuff bracelets are designed to make bedtime a breeze. Wear them on your wrist while you sleep to keep those monsters under your bed away so your little one can sleep through the night! (and so can you!)

Cuffs are double snap closure, made from the softest cotton blends to make them extra snuggly to sleep in. We make them to fit most kids, ages 2-100! (**Most Monster Cuff's fit ages 1-10, we have two snaps on each bracelet to adjust to a comfy fit.)

To see more sleep-promoting products from BabyHoot, click here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO QUALIFY TO WIN THIS ADORABLE SLEEP AID!

HOW TO WIN: Subscribe to the SHC free opt-in monthly newsletter to become eligible to win monthly giveaways! The monthly newsletter offers subscribers free sleep product giveaways; the very latest in sleep news; links to monthly sleep health polls; connections to public sleep health opportunities; and access to sleep health awareness campaigns. Also, this is an easy way to engage with the curator directly!

HOW THE MONTHLY GIVEAWAY WORKS: The winner will be selected randomly from the full subscription list as it exists as of 11:59pm on the last day of every month. One winner picked monthly. Each monthly winner will be contacted through email; winner must reply to email and provide mailing address in order to win. Each winner announced in the next month's newsletter.

MONSTERS OF SLEEP || October's Subscriber Giveaway banishes the things that go bump in the night

The Snuggly Monster Cuff by BabyHoot, an adorable way to help kids feel safe so they can fall asleep.

SHC is proud to offer this fantastic solution for helping kids to fall asleep at night: 

THE SNUGGLY MONSTER CUFF! It scares away the monsters while you sleep! The cuff offered here is made from limited edition, blue and orange monster fabric!

From the maker, BabyHoot--Handmade Things for Baby: "Does your child have trouble sleeping with monsters under the bed? Or maybe they live in the closet...

These super comfy, monster cuff bracelets are designed to make bedtime a breeze. Wear them on your wrist while you sleep to keep those monsters under your bed away so your little one can sleep through the night! (and so can you!)

Cuffs are double snap closure, made from the softest cotton blends to make them extra snuggly to sleep in. We make them to fit most kids, ages 2-100! (**Most Monster Cuff's fit ages 1-10, we have two snaps on each bracelet to adjust to a comfy fit.)

To see more sleep-promoting products from BabyHoot, click here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW TO QUALIFY TO WIN THIS ADORABLE SLEEP AID!

HOW TO WIN: Subscribe to the SHC free opt-in monthly newsletter to become eligible to win monthly giveaways! The monthly newsletter offers subscribers free sleep product giveaways; the very latest in sleep news; links to monthly sleep health polls; connections to public sleep health opportunities; and access to sleep health awareness campaigns. Also, this is an easy way to engage with the curator directly!

HOW THE MONTHLY GIVEAWAY WORKS: The winner will be selected randomly from the full subscription list as it exists as of 11:59pm on the last day of every month. One winner picked monthly. Each monthly winner will be contacted through email; winner must reply to email and provide mailing address in order to win. Each winner announced in the next month's newsletter.

National Sleep Foundation: "What To Do When Your Child Is Too Scared To Sleep"

"Nap time" by Vladimir Rodionov. CC BY-SA 3.0

Here are some great tips from the experts at the National Sleep Foundation for those parents who are struggling with children who are experiencing nightmares. I would add that children refrain from playing stimulating video games right before bed, as these, too, present intense, scary characters and narratives that could disturb them as well.

Sleep Hygiene Tip of the Week || Think carefully before napping

"Rosie and Jennie Took a Cat-Nap."
Harry Whittier Frees, 1915. Public domain.

There's lots of contradictory advice out there about napping. Who should nap? Who shouldn't nap? When is a nap a good idea? A bad idea? What's a good nap length? Let's take these one at a time.

1. Who should nap?

• Naps are good for children as their developing bodies often need the added rest.
• The elderly often nap, and it's not a bad idea. They may have multiple health conditions that lead to daytime sleepiness, and they may also be taking numerous medications that cause them to feel drowsy. 
• Anyone who is sick with a virus or infection can benefit from napping. The body is working hard at the cellular level to manage healing; sleeping gives the body an added opportunity to repair itself.
• Anyone with a chronic health condition or a serious disease like cancer can benefit from a nap. 
• Postoperative patients can benefit from naps while they are in recovery and/or rehabilitation mode.

2. Who shouldn't nap?

• Don't get into the habit of napping if you are suffering from insomnia. It seems counterintuitive ("don't sleep if you can't sleep?"), but regular napping may actually lead to chronic insomnia. Try to get most of your sleep at night and only nap if you really can't avoid it. 
• If you suffer from depression, taking a nap may not help matters as it may continue to alter already disrupted sleep patterns that arise from the condition or via the pharmaceuticals used to treat depression.

3. When is a nap a good idea?

• If you are unexpectedly drowsy, a quick nap can give you the recharge you need. Often we feel drowsy in the early to mid-afternoon. As long as you don't oversleep, you can benefit from a nap at this time.
• If you work night or overnight shifts, a nap prior to working can add some sleep to your "bank" so your recovery time afterward can be easier.
• If you have been diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia or narcolepsy, planned naps can help offset these conditions. (Please don't diagnose yourself: get a confirmed diagnosis from a sleep health professional. Excessive daytime sleepiness can be caused by any number of health conditions, many of them not related to sleep.)

4. When is a nap a bad idea?

• If you tend to wake up groggy from naps, then you might not benefit from taking them right before you need to perform tasks that require alertness. 
• If you have insomnia, you might consider how often you nap, and for how long. Naps, if not absolutely necessary for function or healing, can actually reduce your sleep drive at night and make it harder to fall asleep or to get most of your sleep at night.
• It's after 3pm. Any naps after this time may very well disrupt your nighttime sleeping patterns.

5. What's a good nap length?

• Quick naps are best. Ten to 30 minutes should do the trick.

Other things to consider:

• If you use a device for your nighttime sleeping, such as supplemental O2 through a cannula, a PAP mask, nasal strips or an oral device, make sure and enlist these tools for naps, as well. They are yours to use to improve all sleep, not just the sleep you get at night.
• Eating a meal right before a nap could aggravate any heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease you may suffer from. You may wish to take a medication for this condition prior to napping.
• Always opt for a nap if you are driving a motor vehicle or operating heavy machinery and find you are extremely drowsy. Do not think you can "power through" extreme fatigue. Your sleep drive is a physiological process which can't be denied. 
• A warm room might be conducive to sleep onset, but you may not have a very long nap if you are overheated. If your sleeping environment is overwarm, try using a fan and blankets to moderate ambient temperature.
• Make sure you nap in an environment conducive to sleep (make sure it is dark and quiet, for example) or you might be frustrated by your failure to sleep.
• If you are regularly fatigued and need to nap daily, this could be a sign of an underlying health condition. Contact your doctor to discuss your options.