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Sleeping Disorders in Children
I never knew there was such a phenomenon of children having issues with sleeping. That is before I had my second child. I always thought that all kids slept wonderful after 6-10 wks of age. Did I need a wake up call or what? Did you know that over 30% of children have been diagnosed with some type of sleeping disorder?
Yes, there are more than one type of sleeping disorders with children. Some can be a bit alarming when witnessing them.
Sleep Terrors are interesting in the fact that they make you feel like something is psychologically wrong with your child, when really there is nothing wrong at all. My daughter did experience these for a short period of time. I wanted to video tape her and send it to a psychologist. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen.
Sleep Apnea is probably one of the most common sleep disorders. It is usually caused by enlarged tonsils and/or adnoids. Something I didn’t know was the effect this can have on your child during school. They aren’t getting the required sleep they need because they don’t reach the adequate amount of REM sleep. They usually are falling asleep in class and have difficult paying attention. In fact, sometimes these kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD. However, as for my son, enlarged tonsils or adnoids may not be causing the sleep apnea. This is a situation where surgery is not a quick fix.
Bedwetting is also a type of sleeping disorder with kids. Another new piece of information I learned because although I knew it occurred, I never knew it was a diagnosed sleep disorder.
Restless Leg Syndrome can also occur with children although it isn’t as common. This is very similar to sleep apnea in the fact that they don’t get enough REM sleep because they are constantly waking up throughout the night.
Some children just have a hard time falling asleep because they are too worried about the everyday events that occur. Also there are many disorders that prevent childen from actually being able to fall asleep. Refer to this article for all the signs and symptoms for sleeping disorders in children.
A good bedtime routine is never a bad idea but sometimes no matter what you do, your child isn’t getting a good night’s rest. It is something that I never thought to tell my pediatrician until I had what you call a lightbulb moment. I know when I am lacking sleep, I am very sensitive and overly grumpy. Why couldn’t this be what my son’s problem is?
When I addressed the problem with my pediatrician, she thought a sleep study was a must in the full spectrum of his symptoms. Just an idea to inform people that children should be sleeping at least 10 hours a night and if they aren’t discuss it with your pediatrician. They might have a sleeping disorder.
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