The Rested Child: Why Your Tired, Wired, or Irritable Child May Have a Sleep Disorder--and How to Help

by W. Chris Winter

A comprehensive guide to the varied sleep disorders that affect children from infancy to adolescence, many of which are commonly misdiagnosed, offering new wisdom to parents about how to ease their child's troubles.

Sleep disorders in children are on the rise. Experts have pronounced sleeplessness a "hidden health crisis" for young people, with 10 percent of children presenting with diagnosable sleep disorders--but well over half are misdiagnosed. Every year, tens of thousands of children are treated for diseases such as diabetes, learning disorders, or chronic pain, when the real root cause of their ailment may actually be a sleep disorder for which they're not being treated.

In this groundbreaking guide, neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Chris Winter identifies the signs and symptoms of the most common sleep disorders affecting children today, and he empowers parents and caregivers to understand the steps necessary to address and treat their children's sleep problems. From common issues such as too much screen time and night terrors, to narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and more, The Rested Child leaves no stone unturned. This book pulls back the curtain on the relationship between poor sleep quality and pediatric epidemics related to psychiatric health, rising obesity, ADD/ADHD, pain disorders, and other undiagnosed disorders of sleepiness and fatigue.

Finally parents have a resource to help them uncover the root of their children's problems, and, more important, to provide the answers on how to help.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Health, Childrens, How To

352 pages, Hardcover

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Sleep specialist, neurologist, author of The Sleep Solution & The Rested Child. Sleep + athletic performance. Bowie enthusiast. More @SportSleepDoc.

Reviews

[Hannah Dnls · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would have taken a lot less time if I saw the authors photo before hand! Omg what a dream boat. Atlas his photo is at the end of the book like typical authors.

Him being handsome aside, this author has such a good writing style, funny and packed full of information. His little side notes made me literally laugh out loud and share it with whoever I was near.

Highly recommend.

[Picky Pilare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have followed Dr. Winter since his first book and think this one is better. Maybe it is because I have kids now. It has given me much to think about. The book is very funny which I liked about the first book.

[Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the only book I could find with any info on older kids. Three thumbs up.

[Lyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have two teen daughters and there is still plenty of applicable information here. But I would have loved to have been able to read this 15 years ago, too. Highly recommend!

[Fred Greybowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tone and historical perspectives are priceless. Excellent, and I have no kids.

[Lisa Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a reason Arianna Huffington dubbed him "the sleep whisperer," as this book for parents underscores. Winter offers a wealth of practical expert advice for parents of kids of all ages, touching on related areas like technology and school start times along the way. And he's funny, to boot :) Highly recommend

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book on sleep. Great practical tips but I also learned so much about the ways that sleep affects our lives. The author seems to genuinely care about kids getting diagnosed correctly so they can live successful, healthy and fulfilling lives. The author narrates the audiobook which is really good.

Really interesting stuff involving ADHD and sleep. Apparently narcolepsy is not as rare or dramatic in the ways it shows itself as I thought. Restless leg syndrome can have a very bad impact on kids’ sleep. I also learned that 50% of kids on the autism spectrum struggle with one sort of sleep issue or another. That is a huge number!

I totally recommend this book to all parents so they know what to look for in kids that might be having issues with sleep so they know when to take their kids to a sleep specialist. I think some of my main issues have to do with parenting issues, not what is going on with my son’s sleep but I still think a sleep study would be valuable.

[AnneS Spillers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read self-help as a general rule. But, after sleeping in a bed and then a room with my daughter a month ago, I thought she might have a sleep issue. I was mulling over going to a sleep specialist (perhaps I was overreacting) when I saw this book.

It was eye-opening. He starts with why sleep is so important, setting schedules and why that is important before moving on to sleep issues.

It was so easy to read, funny, and relatable. It did lead me to get a referral to a sleep specialist. I wish I had found this 11 years ago.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and comprehensive book on sleep! I found Dr. Winter’s writing to not only be very informative,but also really engaging. I would argue that if you are a person that sleeps, this is a worthwhile read. However, seeing that I also have five children, I found it especially intriguing. But it also made some issues I dealt with as a teenager make a lot more sense too. The patients he spotlighted ranged from baby to college student and the book covers a wide range of sleep issues.

[Abbey Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not overly impressed by this book. The info on chronotypes, sleep schedules, and circadian rhythms was interesting, but I did not agree with his promotion of cry it out, waking sleeping babies, and never sleeping in. I would reference this book if I felt my child was having a specific issue such as wetting the bed or narcolepsy, as he shared good info on troublesome topics.

[Spenser White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read the first three chapters. Good encouragement that we’re setting these things up right for our kids

[Brea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad that I found this book and read it. It was very informative and finally unlocked the answer to my child's sleep issue. After reading this book I suspect that she has Advanced Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder. My only reason for withholding a star is that the book didn't go into detail on what I can do for her since most people with a sleep wake disorder are delayed and not advanced.
I totally recommend this book to anyone who has a child with any kind of sleep issue. Sleep issues aren't just with babies and toddlers! I already feel a little like a sleep expert after reading this book and feel ready to go to our pediatrician and get some help with our daughter's sleep.

[Michelle Crunkleton-Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleep is so important to our health and well-being.

My interest in this topic is because I have been an advocate for healthy school start times since the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with their start time recommendations in 2014. The author does talk about the harmful impact of too early school start times, but that is not the whole of this book.

This book is a wonderful resource for parents to navigate what may or may not be a sleep problem in their child, and is filled with lots information and sensible advice. I wish I had it when my children were still children.

[Emily Horvath · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and realistic approach to kids sleep. This was given to me at a Navy family retreat when we got to see Dr. Winter speak. I don't know if I would have read it otherwise but it reinforced many of the things we are doing already from other sleep experts out there.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fascinating info in this book, especially the link between sleep disorders and ADHD diagnosis, bed wetting, sleep apnea, reflux, night terrors, etc. Having read this, I feel so much more equipped to help my kids develop healthy sleep habits.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening and easy to read. I loved the graph featuring Khloe, Kim, and the other one. It made me feel like everything could be solved with better sleep, which is not true, but it definitely matters more than I thought.

[Sarah Opgenorth]

More like “skimmed” but it was funny and interesting

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous grounded book on so many sleep issues including basic ones that we need just a nudge to fix.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way more information than I could possibly need. But I thought it was interesting and written in a way that was engaging and even fun to read.