Have you ever been worried about your child’s breathing at night? Do you find that your child snores loudly on a regular basis? Does your child wake up not feeling refreshed and in an irritable mood?

There are many behavioural factors that affect sleep (such as timing, environment, sleep associations, stress etc.) but there are also medical factors that can affect a child’s sleep. We often hear about adult sleep disorders but children can also suffer from sleep disorders - and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is one of them.

Sleep Apnea is when a person stops breathing for a short time while they are asleep on a frequent and regular basis. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is when something is getting in the way of breathing (such as tonsils).

Some symptoms of OSA include:

·         Chronic Snoring*

·         Pauses or gasps in breathing while sleeping

·         Aggressiveness, hyperactivity and an inability to focus

·         Restless sleep

·         Sleeping in unusual positions

·         Daytime sleepiness even after seemingly sleeping all night

·         Hard time waking up in the morning

·         Not feeling or looking refreshed after sleeping the recommended hours at night

·         Dry mouth or headaches in the morning

* Snoring is a symptoms of sleep apnea however not all children who snore will have sleep apnea. Furthermore, children have more difficulty with breathing the second half of the night so if you are peeking in at random times you may not be seeing the extent of the snoring/breathing difficulties.

Here is some more information you may find helpful:

http://sleephealthfoundation.org.au/pdfs/Childhood%20Snoring%20&%20Sleep%20Apnoea.pdf

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/apnea.html

http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/o/obstructive-sleep-apnea-osa/overview

https://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/childrens-sleep-apnea/

 If you are concerned that your child may have sleep apnea or a medical sleep disorder please see your family doctor or pediatrician for a referral to a pediatric sleep clinic. Unless medically trained in the field of sleep disorders, a Sleep Consultant cannot treat medical conditions. Having said this, if you find that your child is still having sleep challenges after the condition has been treated or is being managed, a Sleep Consultant can help set up a plan to instill healthy sleep habits and a healthy sleep routine.

In Wellness,

Tamara Jurkin