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Sleep Disorders in Children
April 12, 2007 |
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Adults are not the only ones who can have sleep disorders, children can as well.
There's a lot of sleep disorders that can affect both adults and children- for instance 1 in 5 school aged children snore. Board Certified Sleep Disorder Specialist Dr. Holly Hannon says "Often the snoring is do to large tonsils and adenoids and the snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea which can be a more serious problem in disturbing their sleep and causing day time consequences."
Children can even have insomnia, which Dr. Hannon says many times that can be improved with creating good bedtime habits. "Try to establish ground rules or a set bed time and a bed time routine so that theirs no arguments at that time that establishes consistency."
Another common category of sleep disorders that are seen in children is parasomnias, those are unusual behaviors like nightmares, night terrors and sleepwalking. Dr. Hannon also says "They may appear to be awake but the brain is actually still asleep. So a sleep walking child would get up and wander around the house; it's not necessarily a harmful problem but there is a risk for injury."
If you find your child sleepwalking it's suggested you try not to wake them up. Sleepwalker Kassidy Jennings says, "Whenever I wake up in the morning I always wake up in like my sisters bed or my mom's bed or sometimes on the couch, luckily not in the pool."
Experts say school-aged children need somewhere between 9 and 12 hours of sleep at night.
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