Insufficient Sleep: How We Treat

How is insufficient sleep treated?

The Breathing Institute treats patients with insufficient sleep concerns

The first step in treating insufficient sleep is making sure that any medical problems that could reduce sleep are properly diagnosed and treated. This begins with a visit to the sleep clinic with a physician or a nurse practitioner specializing in sleep treatments. After an exam, these providers will suggest possible treatments and may recommend additional tests or procedures. 

Families often also work with the sleep team’s psychologist to resolve insufficient sleep. While this may involve more than one visit, it is often resolved with two or three visits and phone consultations. The psychologist helps families learn new habits and behaviors that support improved sleep. In most cases, an important part of increasing sleep is improving sleep habits, which health care providers call “sleep hygiene.”

Children with insomnia regularly learn cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) tools which help them to more effectively relax and mentally refocus as a way of inviting sleep. Treating night awakenings involves training infants and children to learn to sooth themselves back to sleep after their natural waking during the night. In all cases, our sleep psychologist offers support for families interested in making sleep changes because we recognize that teaching and learning new skills and behaviors is often challenging for our patients and families.   

Why choose Children’s Hospital Colorado for your child’s insufficient sleep?

The Children’s Colorado Sleep Team is an excellent resource for treating insufficient sleep for children and adolescents. Our providers are known internationally for their expertise in sleep research and sleep treatments. The team is made up of sleep specialists trained in different aspects of sleep treatments, including: sleep physicians who specialize in children’s breathing and ear-nose-and throat problems, a sleep-specialized psychologist, two sleep-specialized nurse practitioners, a sleep-specialized respiratory therapist and a dedicated sleep nurse. 

We often coordinate care with other specialists and primary care physicians involved in each family’s treatment. Most importantly, we have very caring staff members who are willing to listen to families and go the extra mile to improve your child’s sleep and optimize his or her development.