Top Five Reasons Why Children Get Sick At Night

A lot of parents wonder how their children wake up sick even though they seem perfectly fine through the day. However, the problem isn’t really all that mysterious and these top five reasons for children falling ill at night may surprise you.

1. Not being tucked in properly

This one is a no-brainer. Children toss and turn at night but are often too sleepy or too unmindful to tuck themselves back in every time they toss their blankets aside. If your child is prone to waking up with colds and fever, not being tucked in properly through the night may to blame. A good way to monitor whether this is the reason behind your child’s health is to leave a nanny cam in his room overnight and check his sleeping patterns. If your child tosses and turns too much and ends up shoving his blanket away at night, consider setting the thermostat a little higher in his room and shutting form getting cold at night without a blanket on.

2. Excessively bright night lights

Sometimes excessively bright nightlights disturb children’s sleep and they tend to wake up tired. Overtime, this pattern will lead to a breakdown in their immunity and they would begin to wake up with aches, coughs and colds. If your child complains of body aches or headaches in the morning, try dimming his night light a bit or turning it off completely.

3. Dehydration

Like most adults, children can be a little forgetful about drinking enough water during the day. Even though most parents think giving the child a drink of water before bedtime is a bad idea, offering the child a sip or two of water before naptime and leaving a full, covered glass by their bedside may help ward off dehydration during the night.

4. Fear

Most adults find fears of monsters under the bed or in the closet too childish, but for kids, these can be pretty real even to the point where they cause the child to become physically ill. Nightlights usually work pretty well in quelling fears of monsters in the dark though it might be best to have a heart to heart with the child and calm his fears.

5. Excessive clothing

Parents might find erring on the side of caution the best way to ensure that kids don’t get cold at night, but the fact remains that excessive clothing can lead to poor circulation which may cause kids to wake up with aches and sore limbs. At night, always dress kids in loose fitting clothing. Warm onesies work best for younger kids while long sleeved fleece or flannel pajamas work better for older children.