There are more than 100 sleep disorders. Isn’t that an amazing figure? Some sleep disorders are more common in infants, children and adolescents than adults. All affect sleep quality. Poor sleep may result in behavioral and learning problems, not to mention moodiness during the day.
If you answer yes to one or more of the following questions, your child may be suffering from a treatable sleep disorder. Does your child:
Snore or have breathing pauses in sleep?
Wake up gasping for air or choking?
Have problems falling or staying asleep night after night?
Wake up too early most mornings before getting sufficient sleep?
Experience unusual sensation in the legs regularly at night, such as a pins-and-needles feeling?
Have growing pains more than twice a week?
Have restless sleep – your child constantly tosses, turns, flails and never seems to settle down?
Sweat excessively in sleep?
Wake up unrefreshed after sufficient sleep?
Awaken with morning headaches?
Experience daytime difficulties in focus, attention, memory or concentration?
Sleep excessively during day and night, or falls asleep at inappropriate times?
Have ADD-ADHD like symptoms?
Have difficulty getting up in the morning most days?
Of course, plenty of children experience occasional growing pains or have difficulty falling asleep from time to time. But I believe in parents’ instinct. If any of the descriptions above fit your child and you think it’s possible your child has a sleep disorder, contact your pediatrician or call a pediatric sleep specialist for evaluation.
Evaluation includes a physical exam of your child, an analysis of your child’s medical history and possibly an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram. Most pediatric sleep centers have a quiet, comfortable room with a bed for the child and for a parent. Sleep testing is not painful: There are no shots. Many centers allow you to bring familiar objects such as the child’s pillow, blanket, or stuffed animal.
The good news: Once diagnosed, sleep disorders can be treated. That means a better night’s sleep for the child and for the parents.
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