During the cold, snowy Wisconsin winter nights, I like to enjoy a cozy fire in our fireplace, sip hot cocoa and bundle up in a warm sweater. Sadly, winter also means a higher risk of home fires.

Did you know that over half of home fires happen late at night when people are sleeping? A nighttime house fire can be devastating, but knowing a few facts may protect your family if you wake up in the middle of the night and smell smoke.

Kids sleep more deeply than adults, and that may make it more difficult to wake them during an emergency. I recently read a study that said young children often sleep through normal smoke detector alarms or respond so slowly that they can’t escape within the critical three-minute time period. This makes it easier to understand why more than 50 percent of child deaths from fire occur when children are sleeping.

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Only 20 percent of all teens get the recommended nine hours of sleep per night. Yet more than half of all teens report feeling sleepy during the day.  The impact of this includes being late to school or falling asleep in school, being too tired to exercise or driving while drowsy. According to a new study, electronic devices may contribute to teens not getting enough sleep at night. In the study, 100 teens filled out questionnaires about how much time after 9 p.m. they spent with various electronic devices.  The results were eye-opening: 82 percent reported watching television, more than half reported on-line computer use, and a little less than half reported talking on the phone.  Fifty-seven percent reported completing homework.  On average, teens engaged in four technology activities after 9 p.m.  And, caffeine consumption tended to be higher in the teens who were multitasking and getting less sleep.

Suggestions to improve your teen’s sleep:
1.    Avoid having a TV or computer in the bedroom and turn them off at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime.
2.    Set limits for when your teen can make or receive phone calls and text messages.
3.    Limit caffeine, especially after lunch time.
4.    Make sleep a priority in your family and set a good example.

If you are concerned about your teen’s sleep habits, learn more about how we can help by visiting Children’s Sleep Center.

With Halloween around the corner this month, horror movies are filling our theaters and TV guides. If your child has bad dreams, avoid these films and pay attention to what your child watches on TV.

Nightmares occur at all ages, but the peak ages are between 3 and 6 years old, when most children’s imaginations blossom. The content of these dreams varies across the age groups. Younger children may dream about separation from parents, shots at the doctor’s office or scary monsters. Older children may have nightmares about stories they’ve seen in the movies or on TV.

Telling the difference between nightmares and sleep terrors can be difficult because they both can happen in early childhood and the child may appear frightened and scream under both conditions. But during sleep terrors, the child doesn’t appear to be awake, and trying to console the child worsens the situation. Children can recall details about a bad dream but have no memory of a sleep terror. Therefore, sleep terrors often are more distressing to the parent or caregiver than the child.

So, what is a parent to do?

Nightmares and sleep terrors increase with sleep deprivation, so a regular sleep schedule, good sleep habits (no TV, computer or video games or caffeine before bedtime) and a quiet sleep environment are helpful. Avoiding frightening movies. Parental reassurance and security objects may help with nightmares. If your child seems to fight or avoid your attempts to comfort, he or she may be having a sleep terror. The best thing to do is to make sure your child is safe but avoid contact. Interfering with the sleep terror may increase your child’s agitation and prolong the episode. Don’t worry, sleep terrors usually disappear by adolescence. But nightmares can persist into adulthood, so choose your movies wisely this Halloween season.

–Louella Amos, MD, fellow, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Sleep Center