There are no two experts who will agree on the issue of whether or not children who sleep more deeply are more likely to wet the bed. Deep sleep bedwetting is a theory. According to information on potty training concepts.com, doctors agree that there is no difference in the EEG of a child who is a bed wetter and one who is dry all night. However, the theory persists that deep sleepers tend to wet more often because parents of children who do wet the bed insist that there is a difference.
Because I couldn’t find agreement between the medical experts, I took my questions to the parenting experts. I talked to the parents of three children who wet the bed. I asked them what they think about the question of deep sleep bed wetting. All three parents, one the parent of an eleven year old bed wetter, one the parent of an eight year old bed wetter, and one with grown children all told me that their bed wetting child was also the deepest sleeper of all their children.
They were each able to give me stories and examples of how difficult that particular child can be to wake. In each family, there is more than one child. All agree the bed wetting sibling sleeps much deeper than the others. So, if my unscientific method agrees with what you are seeing in your own home, what is a parent to do?
One theory I heard over and over again was to offer the child a cup of Mountain Dew before bed. This is not a theory I would recommend in any way. My pediatrician was kind enough to give me a minute of his time and he admitted to hearing this theory over an over again. He was 100% opposed to this method of solving deep sleep bed wetting. He said that the Mountain Dew was far more likely to have the completely opposite effect, by irritating the walls of the bladder and causing the child to need to wet more often, not less. He also mentioned the fact that young children simply do not need a big dose of caffeine for any reason, and the risks of tooth decay.
The only tips that any of the three parents dealing with this problem agreed will sometimes work are the same tried and true bed wetting solutions that work for any bed wetter, and are never a total fix. They all agreed that parents should limit or eliminate drinks two hours before bed. Have the child urinate 30 minutes before bed, right before bed, and also wake the child and take them to use the bathroom when the parent is on their way to bed a couple hours later.
Fortunately, deep sleep bed wetting does not seem to last any longer than any other bed wetting. According to the Child Development Center website, 99% of children stop wetting the bed in adolescence, whether they are deep sleepers or not.
