Behavioural Support & Sleep

When attempting to help with sleep difficulties, you may encounter a range of different support mechanisms aimed at changing the behaviour around sleep ^[1].  All these strategies are encouraged to be done with the support of a Sleep Practitioner– such as Sleep Right. Remember, that some of these strategies will not feel comfortable/feel right for you and your family, it’s about working with Sleep Right to explore the best and most comfortable option.

Below gives you a bit more detail some of the strategies employed by sleep practitioners, and what they mean:

1.     Extinction - Extinction is a common techniquewhich discourages parents from attending to their child when they present‘undesirable’ sleep behaviours ^[1]. It is argued that this technique removes the reinforcement of these behaviours. However, it is also important tobe aware that not attending to the child may create more anxiety around sleep. Therefore, ensure that this method is undertaken with the guidance of SleepRight/trained sleep professional.

2.     Positive Reinforcement – In contrast to the previous technique, this approach rewards positive sleep-related behaviours through rewards, therefore encouraging the child to do that behaviour more.
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3.     Sleep Hygiene – Good sleep hygiene refers to good sleep habits and behaviours that attempt to optimise the quality of sleep.Though these practices may be diverse, common techniques include: having a scheduled bedtime/waketime and bedtime routine; having a clean, cool, dim environment conducive for sleep; avoidance of stimulating activities prior to sleep; and consuming sleep-inducing foods.

4.     Scheduled Awakenings – With scheduled awakenings, a parent gently awakens their child 30-45 minutes prior to the time that they normally experience night-waking or nightmares. Doing so awakens the child during deep sleep, allowing them to get back to sleep easier and to potentially avoid these nightmares.

5.     Chronotherapy – This approach attempts to reset the body’s natural timing of sleep by delaying sleep by several hours each day, until the desired sleep time has been reached.

Though there are many other strategies aimed at changing sleep behaviour, these are some of the main ones that you may encounter! However, it is important to use these strategies based on a sleep professional’s recommendation, to ensure that they are best for your situation!

 References:
‍¹ Cuomo,B. M., Vaz, S., Lee, E. A. L., Thompson, C., Rogerson, J. M., & Falkmer, T.(2017). Effectiveness of sleep‐based interventions for children with autismspectrum disorder: a meta‐synthesis. Pharmacotherapy: The Journal ofHuman Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 37(5), 555-578.