Free Article: Sleep Disorders in Children

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Symptoms of Sleep Disorders in Children Often Differ to Those of Adults
By M. A. Fulmar

The symptoms of sleep disorders in children are sometimes different to those of adults and parents and caregivers need to be aware of this. Children naturally fear the dark, which helps to worsen sleep disorders in them. Fearing the dark can lead to the onset of a nightmare which can, in turn, intensify and night terrors result when the child awakens abruptly and screams to escape a terrifying dream that he or she will not be able to remember later on.

Different Sleep Disorders Including Sleepwalking and Bruxism

Another common sleep disorder in children is sleepwalking or somnambulism, which is harmless if special care is taken by parents to provide them with a safe environment. Children may also often talk in their sleep or sleep with open eyes, and strange as these disorders are, will not do the child any harm, most of the time.

Sleep disorders in children may also take the form of Bruxism or grinding and gnashing the teeth while they are asleep, which is a very disturbing disorder that can also lead to dental problems. Children are also often known to bang their heads or roll their heads, which happens most when they are about to fall asleep. This is another harmless sleep disorder that they will soon outgrow, before becoming adolescents.

However, heartburn is a dangerous as well as common sleep disorder in children that also affects adults as well. The danger to the child arises when his or her stomach acids regurgitates into the throat, which can be due to an underlying medical problem. Children are also known to suffer from periodic limb movement as well as restless leg syndrome that are both very disturbing to the child as well as to parents. This condition can also lead to sleepwalking, insomnia as well as nightmares.

Other sleep disorders in children include nocturnal asthma/nocturnal seizures that are often quite frightening as well as stressful for all concerned, including the child and parents, and should require medical supervision for getting it under control. Also, sleep apnea can attack adults as well as children, including premature newborns and also, the elderly.

A number of the above-mentioned problems can lead to Apparent Life Threatening Event (ALTE) which causes the child to lose color as well as becomes limp. In such a sleep disorder, it often becomes very difficult to awaken the child who becomes quite listless on being awoken, which can terrify parents no end. Probably the most frightening and dreaded sleep disorder in children is SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome of which not much is known, and there are also not many treatments available for this condition. It is known, however, that many children lose their lives as a result of SIDS each year.

Author Details:
M. A. Fulmar writes about sleep disorders and insomnia plus other health matters for various web sites including, The A to Z of and Information Junkie.

Source: Free Article Directory

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