Siblings and sleep

If you are aged between 12-18, the Children’s Sleep Charity  and University College London need your help! They want to understand how growing up with a brother or sister who has a disability, illness or condition affects your sleep.

They want to know

• How do you feel about sleep?
• Do you ever feel lonely?
• How do you get on during the day if you’re not sleeping enough at night?

If you want to tell them about what it’s like for you growing up with a brother or sister who affects your sleep, have a look at their survey here

Vicki from The Children’s Sleep Charity says,

‘When someone in your house finds it hard to sleep, it affects everyone – including siblings. Having a good night’s sleep is really important for everyone.’

Here at YoungSibs we know that being able to sleep well  makes you feel more able to cope with things at home and at school.  However, siblings tell us that sometimes they don’t sleep well because they share a room with their brother or sister who keeps them awake at night. If you are finding it hard to get a good night’s sleep, ask your parent if you could try

• sleeping in a different room
• using earplugs at night
• going to a relative’s house to have a quiet night’s sleep now and again
• asking if stuff like nappies can be moved out of your room so that you do not have to be disturbed at night
• asking a parent to tell school if you are being disturbed at night so that they can understand what’s going on with you
• If you have to look after your brother or sister at night, asking your parent if they can talk to your GP to ask for help so that other people can do this instead.

Get in touch and tell us what things are like for you!