Grandaughter's Restless Sleep and Teeth Grinding

Sleeping with any of my kids (usually when we are staying at a hotel) is like sleeping with an octopus!! They seem to get a good night sleep, I'm the one who is exhausted in the morning! My middle child (7) has been grinding her teeth on and off for several years. I have talked to her dentist about it because it drives her sister who shares a room with her crazy. He is not concerned about it right now.

Most kids that age are restless sleeper. I have a 6 year old and she is still difficult to sleep with. She also grinds her teeth and there is nothing that can be done until she gets older and isn't growing as fast. Be patient. Our 9 year old is a very calm sleeper.

This is totally normal - just like sleep-walking, there's a little kink in the mechanism that usually disconnects our muscle-activators when we sleep. I don't know if there's anything that can be done about it, but kids usually do grow out of it. If you feel she might be damaging her teeth (gritting, or grinding?), you might want to suggest her parents consult a dentist, but otherwise I wouldn't worry unless you see disturbing symptoms while she's awake.

btw - my oldest was a sleep-walker, and my younger two both started grinding their teeth as soon as they got them. It wasn't stress. Not saying it couldn't be, but most of the time, I doubt it.

I've been told that active sleep for toddlers and infants is normal. My daughter (age 4) is very jerky in bed. She sleeps with us alot as well, and I'm often kicked in my belly or side or slapped in the face because of her "messy" sleep habits. I call it messy for lack of better term, but I feel like she sleeps sort of all over the place. I've even found her completely sideways in our bed, or even upside down with her face by our feet. She talks in her sleep pretty frequently as well...sometimes, just talking, but I hear laughs and crys in the middle of the night and can have conversations with her in her sleep pretty often. In short...don't worry about her sleep. She is getting her REM sleep which is the important sleep.

I'd be more concerned about the teeth grinding. I used to grind too just a few years ago. My dentist told me to push my tonge to the roof of my mouth, towards the front teeth when I went to bed and eventually, it would become more normal for my tonge to keep that position while sleeping. It worked and I stopped grinding after a few weeks. Perhaps you could mention that to your granddaughter and she might be able to stop it on her own before it wrecks her teeth.

J.,
Some movement is expected due to the lack of 'deep sleep' cycles in children. At age 5-8 they should start developing a deeper REM for the brain to process what they are learning throughout the day. It is very interesting seeing the physiology of the developing mind. However it concerns me about your comment that you think that she might have pain somewhere. Especially due to the immature pain centers in the young child. My husband and I are upper cervical specialist in the QCA and my husband sees many young children with restless symptoms. If there has been any trauma or irritation to the brainstem, this will trigger the body to react and respond in many different ways attempting to be comfortable.
If this condition is left alone, the body has a remarkable ability to adapted to the condition. The problem with this is the body will adapt but not be correct so the child will develop with possible long-term affects of this adaptation. Too many children have spinal misalignments and are growing with restriction in thier lives.
My suggestion woul dcall an upper cervical specialist in your area. You cannot find one, give me a call or email so we can refer you for additional help. This goes for the rest of you that have replied which sees it as a normal process. Your child may be developing with a restriction in their nervous system as well. Get them checked!
Hope to help! C.

She's probably just a wiggle worm in her sleep. My oldest who is 7 will sometimes end up with his feet on his pillow! He also grinds his teeth. My two year old does as well. If she doesn't seem tired during the day, I probably wouldn't worry about to much.

My daughter(6) does the same thing even the teeth grinding. She drives me nuts at bedtime.

Hi there J.,

I learned this from a jaw doctor for my TMJ problems, because he checked for teeth grinding on me, and found that I have some. He said teeth grinding is usually stress and/or anxiety induced. Rarely is it "just because". I would talk to her parents and ask if they knew that she did this. Because it can cause long-term physical problems later. Then again, this may be something that she won't outgrow and will have to wear a "bit" at night for to prevent tooth damage. Fortunately, my grinding issue wasn't severe enough to have to wear a "bit" but my stress level is also down from where it was. Hope this is helpful to you, and good luck.

Sometimes tooth grinding is caused by a calcium deficiency...

I have had two Children with Restless sleep.
I took my 5 year old little girl to the Doc an asked him to take a closer look at her tonsils. She was very healthy never sick the only thing was that her sleep was restless, she wet and she snored. He told me if she had them out she would sleep better. So we had them out and now she sleeps like a log.
My Two year old son was every restless at night too.
His tonsils were OK. but he was low in iron. So we fixed that and now he sleeps like a log to.
Just to things you may want to check into.
them having a good night sleep has made for a more peaceful home and the are growing faster.

She probably is bothered by something. My sister was about that age when a cousin came to visit and took her favorite doll to play with. My sister didn't say a word, but her whole mouth was full of canker sores by the time they left. You might learn more if you can get her to draw pictures about "whatever is on your mind."