Boost in mental health due to ‘sleep clinics’

An NHS pilot scheme to help vulnerable children improve their sleep patterns has delivered significant improvements to families’ health and well-being.

Developed by the NHS, the Children’s Sleep Charity and Sheffield City Council, the programme delivers sleep clinics to children from troubled backgrounds or with very challenging behaviour, resulting in children sleeping well and performing better at school, while freeing up time for parents to recharge and be better able to look after their family.

Sheffield Children’s Hospital has been trialing the classes for families of children with brain development disorders or who have gone through trauma in the past which affects their sleep and contributes to ill health and extra demands on the health service.

The measures have had a significant impact on parents’ well-being, with the number of carers, mums and dads reporting illnesses like headaches, anxiety, depression and infections falling by 16 per cent, from more than two-thirds to 51 per cent.

The Sheffield model has seen children gain an extra 2.4 hours sleep per night, and the time taken to get to sleep falling by more than half, from over two hours to just over half an hour.

Claire Murdoch, mental health director for NHS England, said: “The NHS Long Term Plan sets out an ambitious programme to improve children’s health, with investment in mental health services for young people at a record high. NHS investment means world-leading treatments increasingly are available for young people, and common sense, effective measures like this can offer a practical and life-changing helping hand to millions of families.

“As we continue to deliver on our Long Term Plan for the health service in England, whole-person care for young people and their families, which addresses the cause of ill health as well as the symptoms, and supports parents and carers as well as children, will be introduced across the country.”