Common sleep challenges
CYP with cancer may experience:
- Difficulty falling asleep due to anxiety, discomfort, routine changes
- Frequent night waking due to pain, nausea, increased toileting from hyper-hydration
- Daytime somnolence and reversed sleep/wake patterns due to treatment side effects or disrupted nights
- Nightmares/nighttime anxiety due to treatment experiences
During treatment
Factors that can influence sleep :
- Medications such as steroids can cause wakefulness/restlessness
- Hospital environment – noise/lights/overnight medication administration/interventions
- Physical symptoms – pain/nausea/breathing difficulties
(Daniel et al., 2021)
Supporting better sleep
Practical steps that could improve sleep include
- Create a routine
Maintain regular bedtimes and wake times, calming activities such as reading or listening to music - Create a relaxing environment
Dim lights, blankets, reduced noise with earplugs or white noise - Manage symptoms which disrupt sleep
Administer analgesia or antiemetics - Avoid long naps in the day, or prolonged bed rest and try gentle exercise
Specialist support and clinical interventions
If CYP are experiencing sleep disruptions that are persistent or worsening and are affecting mood or behaviour, they should seek specialist support available through psychology, play therapy, or their specialist nurse / key worker.
Research shows that cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is effective in improving sleep quality (Daniel et al., 2021, Sun et al., 2025).
Resources
Sleepio is a 6 week clinically proved programme to treat insomnia
The Sleep Charity provides advice and support on improving sleep
References
Daniel, L.C., Meltzer, L.J., Gross, J.Y., Flannery, J.L., Forrest, C.B. & Barakat, L.P. (2021) ‘Sleep practices in pediatric cancer patients: Indirect effects on sleep disturbances and symptom burden’, Psycho‑Oncology, 30(6), pp. 910–918. doi: 10.1002/pon.5669.
Sun, X., Zhang, Y., Lu, Z., Shu, Z., Zhang, K. & Chen, Y. (2025) ‘Comparative efficacy of interventions for insomnia in cancer patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis’, Sleep and Breathing, 29, Article 133. doi: 10.1007/s11325-025-03300-8.
Page last reviewed February 2026