What exactly are sleep disorders?
Sleep disorders are medical illnesses that make it difficult for children to sleep or cause excessive tiredness. Children sleep problems impair academic achievement by impairing attention, learning, memory, and concentration. Moreover, sleep disturbances may have an impact on a child’s behaviour, creating irritation and hyperactivity.
Pediatric sleep disorders include:
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
Insomnia
Central obstructive sleep apnea
Hypoventilation
Sleep disturbances cause by the circadian rhythm
Narcolepsy
Parasomnias
Disorder of Rhythmic Movement
Syndrome of restless legs
Disorder of periodic limb movement
What causes sleep disorders?
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is describe as breathing pauses that are commonly associate with snoring or gasping. OSA is often cause by a blockage of the airway cause by enlarged tonsils and adenoids and/or obesity. The issue may also be cause by conditions such as low muscular tone or craniofacial deformities found in Down syndrome or in children with nasal blockage. To diagnose OSA, we do an overnight sleep study.
Insomnia is define as difficulty falling or staying asleep. Poor sleep habits and routines might contribute to it. Conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome may induce insomnia. The use of cognitive behavioural methods to modify habits and behaviours and retrain how to fall and stay asleep is the first line of therapy for insomnia.
Central apnea happens when the region of the brain that regulates breathing fails to keep the respiratory process going correctly. Since the respiratory centre in the brain is underdevelop, it is rather prevalent in extremely preterm newborns.
Inadequate breathing or ventilation at night is referr to as hypoventilation. It may result in abnormal blood gas levels (the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream). In children, hypoventilation is often connect with diseases such as obesity or muscular dystrophy.
Circadian rhythm sleep problems lead a kid or adolescent to sleep at odd or late hours. This happens when their internal body clock is thrown off. Teens sometimes experience a delayed sleep period, arriving late to bed and rising late.
Narcolepsy is a sleep condition characterise by extreme drowsiness, dream-like activity when awake, and abrupt muscular tone loss.
Parasomnias are sleep disorders characterise by odd or abnormal activities during falling asleep, sleeping, or waking up. Sleepwalking, nocturnal terrors, and confusional arousals are among them. Confusional arousals might cause your kid to behave oddly or confusedly when they first wake up or shortly after.
Rhythmic movement disorder is characterise by rocking, rolling, or head pounding. It is a peaceful method to fall asleep for most youngsters and causes no worry.
Modvigil 200 mg (Provigil) is use to treat excessive sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy and residual sleepiness in certain cases of sleep apnea. Scientists believe the drug affects the sleep-wake centers in the brain. The most common side effect is a headache.
Restless leg syndrome is a disorder that creates an overwhelming need to move one’s legs. Restless leg syndrome may run in families in certain situations. Dopamine, a brain neurotransmitter that helps govern motion, may be low in children with restless leg syndrome. It might also be cause by low iron levels in the brain. Dopamine action is dependent on iron.
Periodic limb movement disorder is characterise by periodic twitching or movement of the legs or feet while sleeping. These frequent motions might disrupt sleep and cause daytime drowsiness.
Sleep disorder symptoms?
Extreme daytime weariness, difficulty to concentrate, hyperactivity, and irritability are all symptoms of sleep deprivation in children. Additional indications and symptoms of sleep disturbances are as follows:
The most prevalent is snoring, which is follow by pauses or gasps.
Sleeping with laboure breathing Extremely restless sleep and sleeping in strange postures
Sleepiness throughout the day or behavioural issues
Bedwetting is define as unusual or aberrant behaviour during falling asleep, sleeping, or waking up.
Failure to flourish or inadequate weight gain
Which tests are use to identify sleep disorders?
Excessive drowsiness, sleep-disorder breathing, insomnia, and movement issues during sleep may all be cause by a variety of factors. Your child’s doctor will do a physical exam and inquire about your child’s sleeping habits, medical history, and symptoms to diagnose a sleep problem. Your child’s doctor may request that you maintain a sleep diary or sleep log to assist in the diagnosis of sleep phase difficulties and insomnia. Base on this information, your child’s doctor may prescribe more tests or consult with our multidisciplinary team of sleep, breathing, and behaviour specialists.
We may also request a polysomnogram, which is a kind of sleep study. It is an overnight test that we undertake at Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Breathing Institute’s Sleep Program. It captures several sleep phases to see whether your child’s sleep or breathing is disrupte.
The polysomnogram will use sensors to monitor your child’s brain waves, heart rate, respiration, and muscle activity. These sensors are place on your child’s head, chin, legs, chest, and near the eyes. The sensors are securely attach to the skin using gel, tape, or specific mesh netting.
Why choose us for your child’s sleep disorder?
Children’s The Sleep Center of Colorado offers complete clinics to examine children’s sleep and provide appropriate treatment suggestions so that the whole family may return to a regular night’s sleep. Our team comprises pulmonologists, neurologists, sleep psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who have considerable expertise diagnosing and treating sleep disorders in babies, children, and adolescents.
Children who have sleep disorders often have underlying medical issues. That is why, when it comes to effectively resolving sleep issues, Children’s Colorado takes a comprehensive approach to treatment. The Sleep Center staff collaborates closely with other medical teams, such as pulmonary medicine, otolaryngology (ear, nose, throat/ENT), neurology, and adolescent medicine experts, to build a complete treatment plan that covers all aspects of the sleep issue.
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