MedLink Health Connections Podcast

Sweet Dreams: Pediatric Sleep Tips with Dr. Kelly Montgomery

• MedLink Georgia • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Ever wondered why bedtime turns your sweet child into a professional negotiator? Sleep isn’t just rest—it’s the foundation of your child’s growth, learning, and emotional wellbeing.

In this episode, Dr. Kelly Montgomery, pediatrician at MedLink Georgia, explains how sleep fuels physical health, sharpens memory and learning, and helps regulate mood and behavior. She also reveals how lack of sleep can disguise itself as hyperactivity, food cravings, or meltdowns—making it easy to miss the real issue.

Dr. Montgomery offers practical tips for creating effective bedtime routines, avoiding common sleep mistakes, and recognizing the signs your child isn’t getting enough rest. Whether you’re battling toddler bedtime standoffs, focus struggles in school, or a teen’s late-night schedule, her advice is realistic, compassionate, and immediately useful.

For personalized support, schedule an appointment with Dr. Montgomery at MedLink Georgia’s Colbert or Oconee offices.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the MedLink Health Connections podcast, where we connect you to trusted help tips from experts at MedLink Georgia. I'm your host, angela, and today we're talking about a topic every parent can relate to sleep. How much do kids really need, why do they fight bedtime and what can you do to help your child and yourself sleep better? We're joined by Dr Kelly Montgomery, a pediatrician at our Colbert and Oconee offices here at MedLink Georgia. Dr Montgomery has been caring for kids from birth to 18 years at MedLink since 2018. She's fluent in Spanish, passionate about preventative care and a strong advocate for mental health, inclusivity and positivity. Whether it's vaccines, well visits or just surviving bedtime, she brings heart and expertise to every visit, and today she's bringing it to you, dr Montgomery. Before we dive into today's topic, a lot of parents wonder what's the difference between a pediatrician and a family medicine doctor, and how do they know which one is right for?

Speaker 2:

their child To start with. Thank you so much for having me on. I'm excited to talk and this is a great way to start the conversation because every now and then I'll get this question. At MedLink we have family medicine providers and then we'll have a team of about 10 to 12 pediatricians at all our different clinics. So I usually say it this way Family doctors care for everyone, from babies to grandparents.

Speaker 2:

They have broad training, while pediatricians specialize in kids, from newborns to young adults. Our training is focused solely on childhood health, development and childhood illnesses. So I would say the key difference is focus. Family doctors see all ages, while pediatricians only see kids, and this also means pediatricians have more in-depth expertise in childhood conditions and we tend to have more training in how to communicate with children and how to perform a child-centered exam. So while I love all our MedLink providers and our family medicine doctors, they are great for one-stop care for the whole family, especially for generally healthy kids. I do encourage you to consider seeing a pediatrician if your family prefers specialized knowledge in childhood health, if your child has a complex medical condition or if you're just looking for a child-focused approach, but both are great looking for a child-focused approach, but both are great, awesome.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for clearing that up. Why don't we jump right into today's topic sleep To start us off? Why is sleep so important for kids?

Speaker 2:

So sleep is absolutely fundamental for children. It's not just about feeling rested. Think of it as essential fuel for their development in every way, and I typically look at it in three broad categories. I'd start with physically. During deep sleep, our children, their bodies, release crucial growth hormones. This is when they literally grow taller and build strong muscles and bones. Sleep also plays a vital role in strengthening their immune system. When they're well rested, their bodies are much better equipped to fight off infections and illnesses. It's a time for repair and restoration of all their physical symptoms after a busy day of playing and learning.

Speaker 2:

Then the next big section is cognitively. Sleep is prime time for brain development. It's when their brains process all the information they've taken in during the day, consolidating memories and solidifying learning. So adequate sleep is directly linked to improved attention span, improved concentration, better problem-solving skills and overall, better brain function. Think of it as the brain doing its nightly housekeeping and organizing files while we sleep. And then, lastly, emotional and behaviorally who hasn't had a bad night's sleep? And just the world just kind of seems upside down? Sufficient sleep has a huge impact on a child's emotional regulation. Well-rested kids tend to be more patient, less irritable and better able to manage their emotions. Lack of sleep can show up as increased moodiness, frustration, hyperactivity and even behaviors that can sometimes be mistaken for ADHD. It's like their emotional thermostat works much better when they've had enough sleep.

Speaker 1:

Wow, okay. So building on that, how much sleep should children be getting at different stages of growth?

Speaker 2:

This is a common question I'll get at a child's well-child check and the answer varies by age. The American Academy of Pediatric breaks it down into age groups. So for infants you can expect 12 to 16 hours including naps. For toddlers that's ages 1 to 3, we can expect 11 to 14 hours including naps. Preschoolers ages 3 to 5, they'll get about 10 to 13 hours. Some preschoolers are still taking naps, others have grown out of their nap stage. As long as they're getting that sleep overnight, that's fine. Then our school-age children about 9 to 12 hours per night, and teenagers should be getting 8 to 10 hours per night. But these are guidelines. Individual needs can vary. So I usually tell families just pay attention to your child's cues. A well-rested child will typically wake up relatively easily and be alert and engaged throughout the day.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so kind of also going off of that. What are some of the signs that a let me restart that Kind of going off of that? What are some of the signs that your child isn't getting enough?

Speaker 2:

sleep. There are several signs that your child might be sleep deprived, so I'll go through them. In order To start with daytime sleepiness, I think that one's kind of the obvious one. But look beyond just yawning it can also appear as sluggish your child zoning out or falling asleep in the car or during quiet activities. Then there's the irritable and moody child. They're consistently cranky, easily frustrated and has frequent emotional outbursts. Consistently cranky, easily frustrated and has frequent emotional outbursts. Hyperactivity can also be a sign that they're not getting enough sleep, which this is paradoxical. You wouldn't expect this in a sleepy child, but this is actually their bodies trying to compensate for the lack of rest.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes our kids will have difficulty concentrating. Trouble focusing on tasks, following instructions and remembering things can be a sign of insufficient sleep. This can certainly impact their school performance and you might be hearing from the teacher that things are kind of changing in the classroom. A younger child might have increased clinginess or meltdowns. They might be more emotionally sensitive and having those intense temper tantrums. And then, as I mentioned before, frequent illnesses. If your child seems to be getting sick more often, a lack of sleep could be contributing to having just not as strong of an immune system. And lastly, what we're seeing a lot is there's new research that our appetite hormone increases. So what you might see is that increased appetite for unhealthy foods. We start seeing the gremlin hormone kind of make that surge and our child might be craving sugary and ultra processed foods, which we know isn't healthy. So if you're noticing several of these signs, it's probably worth talking to your family doctor or your pediatrician about your child's sleep habits.

Speaker 1:

A common challenge some parents may face is bedtime resistance. Is it normal for kids to resist bedtime and how can parents handle that?

Speaker 2:

Yes. So this is probably what I talk about most with my families. Sleep questions will come up and of course, the parents will talk to me about bedtime resistance. It's incredibly common, especially in the younger kids Think toddler and preschool age. So several reasons for this. One is that developmental stage. Young children are naturally curious. They don't want to miss out on anything. It's almost like FOMO, that fear of missing out. They feel like bedtime is an end to all the fun for the day. And then there's the separation anxiety. Some children just experience anxiety about being separated from their parents at night and they'll need that reassurance. There's also the desire for control and independence in our young children, and bedtime becomes a battleground where they test boundaries and they want to assert their independence. And there's the lack of routines. I discuss routines a lot with my patient's parents.

Speaker 2:

An inconsistent bedtime routine can make it so much harder for children to wind down and for their brains and bodies to understand when it's time to sleep. Our brains need a routine and these sleep associations help them to know when it's time to prepare the body to get into bed. The body to get into bed Um, I have a couple more. And then overtiredness can also be an obstacle to sleep. Ironically, an overtired child can actually have more difficulty falling asleep. When we're really, really tired, we'll have a surge in this stress hormone called cortisol and that makes it harder for our bodies to kind of wind down and start the sleep process.

Speaker 2:

And then the last thing is I'll separate from our school-aged children, our adolescents, our teens. They'll develop something called adolescent sleep onset disorder. This is a teen that is consistently having trouble falling asleep at a reasonable time and that can just be due to a natural biological shift in their sleep-wake cycle. So I always tell parents it's not the teen being resistant, it's a little bit of biology. But on top of that they'll have academic pressures, they might be overscheduled, and then it's just the use of electronics and being on their phone and social media that can suppress our hormone melatonin, which helps our body know that it's time to fall asleep. So I would say about 60, 60% of my teen patients report disordered sleep and we talk about that a lot in clinic as well.

Speaker 1:

So you mentioned a little bit about routine. What would you say a healthy bedtime routine looks like.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a great question. Again, this is probably the bulk of my time when I talk about sleep and sleep disorders. Sleep troubles and sleep training is talking about that routine. So that consistent bedtime routine is going to be key for a child of any age. This is a predictable sequence of calming activities that signals to the child's brain that it's time to wind down, so that routine can look like just setting a wind down time. 30 to 60 minutes before bed. This is when you start to transition away from active play and shut off all screens For some families.

Speaker 2:

I talk to them that if they like to take their bath at night, this bath time can be very relaxing and start to signal to the brain it's time to slow down and get ready for bed. Brushing teeth and getting PJs on these are also essential hygiene steps and good cues for sleep associations for a little one's brain. Quiet activities can also help, like listening to music. A quiet conversation and reading a story. Together can all be really good for just settling down and getting ready for bed. Together can all be really good for just settling down and getting ready for bed. Then the environment dimming the lights. This creates a sleep-inducing atmosphere.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes families will ask about sound machines. So turning on your sound machine can cue your brain that it's time for bed. But I will say avoid any background TVs or using music. Our brains continue to listen to the TV. The brain loves to stay with the story and follow the story, and it loves music because it likes to predict patterns. So we don't want our brains to be on while we're trying to sleep. We want our brains to rest as well. So opt for white noise if you're using sound machines, and then you can give your little one a comfort item like a stuffed animal and then say your goodnight and tuck your child in and leave the room. Once they are tucked in, you leave, and if they call you out again or they ask you to come back, you can respond calmly. But keep it brief. You don't want a lengthy interaction because that's going to disrupt all the work you've done on that sleep routine.

Speaker 1:

Okay, what would you say are some common sleep-related mistakes that parents might not be aware of?

Speaker 2:

inconsistent bedtimes and wait times. I know for some families we just, you know, get busy. We have kids that are of different ages, involved in different afterschool activities or um, we have multiple caregivers and adults that are working, and so if we're working later hours that can contribute to inconsistent bedtimes. But if you can do your best to give your child that consistent bedtime and wake time, that'll really help. Also, just trying to minimize screen times before bed. Another one that parents don't think of is using bed as punishment. This creates a negative association. So we don't want to be telling our kids if you continue to do that, you're going straight to bed, because we want bed to be associated with good sleep, restful sleep, restorative sleep, calming and relaxing associations, not negative association.

Speaker 1:

And finally, what's your number? One piece of advice for parents who are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted when it comes to their child's sleep Well, I'll say I've had.

Speaker 2:

I have two kids. I know that it's getting a good night's sleep for your child and for the parent is so important because that just helps everybody have a better day. And when kids not sleeping, nobody's sleeping and we're all exhausted and overwhelmed. Sleeping, nobody's sleeping and we're all exhausted and overwhelmed. So I gave a lot of information today.

Speaker 2:

I usually tell families just take one or two things and start to create that routine and start to create those small changes. The number one tip is to be consistent. Consistency will lend itself to creating a routine. So even even when you're tired, the idea of a perfect sleep routine might feel overwhelming. But just start with a regular bedtime or a short calming routine before bed, maybe not everything I listed, but maybe one to two things, and then be consistent with it.

Speaker 2:

Don't give up. These things do work. Our children we're born not really knowing how to sleep and so, as parents, all the things we have to teach our parents this is just one of them we need to teach them how to have good, healthy sleep habits so that they sleep well and ultimately, when everyone's sleeping well in the household, everyone wakes up refreshed and ready for the day. So it's kind of a win-win all around. But, of course, if you don't know where to start or you just want to talk some more about it with your family medicine or your pediatrician, don't be afraid to reach out, because we are definitely there to help kind of guide you through all that.

Speaker 1:

Okay, well, thank you so much, dr Montgomery. This has been very educational and insightful and I think everyone who listens could take this home and just get the best sleep of their life. I know I have trouble sleeping even myself and I've had to kind of create a routine and it has helped tremendously. So I definitely think that that is key there. But thank you so much for sharing all of this advice and helping all the kids and parents get better sleep. Remember, rest is just as important as nutrition and exercise when it comes to your child's development. Do you have anything else to say before we wrap this?

Speaker 2:

all up. I guess I'd say first of all, this was a lot of fun for me, thank you for having me on, and I just tell parents you know this is just the beginning. You can have a much more in-depth conversation with your pediatrician to address your individual needs. All your MedLink providers were here to help you kind of understand what's going on with your child and kind of decode those little things. So don't hesitate to reach out.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and if you'd like to schedule a well visit or talk more with Dr Montgomery, you can find her at our MedLink Colbert or Oconee offices. Dr Montgomery, you can find her at our MedLink Colbert or Oconee offices and you can visit medlinkgeorgiaorg to make an appointment or learn more. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast for more health tips that you can actually use. And until next time, thank you so much. Thank you for tuning in to the MedLink Health Connections podcast. We hope you found today's episode informative and inspiring. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, rate and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Remember, the information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns. Stay connected with us on social media and visit our website at medlinkgaorg for more resources and updates. Until next time, stay healthy and take care.