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Sleep disorders in children are common. Poor sleep quality and/or quantity in children are associated with lots of problems: academic, behavioral, developmental and social difficulties, weight abnormalities. It also affects the family dynamics and parental or sibling sleep.¹

Here are some types of sleep disorders:

1.     Obstructive sleep apnea: Its prevalence is of 1-5% onset amongst children aged between two and eight years. The child would have an unusual sleep position, nighttime enuresis (bed-wetting) or diaphoresis (excessive sweating), morning headache, depressed mood, poor concentration, decreased attention², rarely systemic hypertension, pulmonary hypertension.³

2.     Parasomnias

a)     Sleep walking and talking: Usually occurs during the first half of the sleep period with no memory of the event

b)    Confusing arousals

c)     Sleep terrors while asleep (feeling of panic)

d)    Nightmares usually occur in the second half of sleep period with a clear memory of the event

e)     Sleep bruxism (grinding teeth)²

3.     Behavioral insomnia By childhood 10-30% learned inability to fall and/or to stay asleep

Dr. Monique Zgheib

Pediatrician 

¹Standfordhealthcare.org/Pediatric sleep disorders.

²American Academy of sleep Medicine International Classification of sleep disorders Diagnostic and coding moud 2005.

³“Neurobehavioral morbidity associated with disorders breathing during sleep in Children” Beebe DW.Beebe DW. Sleep. 2006 Sep;29(9):1115-34. doi: 10.1093/sleep/29.9.1115.