Curious Parents Family Health Resources

Family Health

SLEEP DISORDERS
Not Exclusive to Adults

Though much of the current debate surrounding sleep is concerned primarily with adults and their seemingly growing dependence on sleeping pills, parents should know children can be prone to sleeping problems as well. Such problems are not exclusive to infants, who parents often expect to have trouble making it through the night. Several things can influence whether children have a good night’s sleep or whether bedtime is something they don’t look forward to.

Nightmares: According to the National Sleep Foundation, nightmares will eventually take care of themselves and simply go away. However, for parents hoping to quell their children’s fears, simply telling a frightened youngster to tough it out won’t help. In addition, nightmares tend to happen later in the night, when parents are often deep in their own sleep, meaning parents are less likely to hear their child having a nightmare and subsequently comfort them.

The best thing to do is to have your child discuss any nightmares with you, and try and think of comforting images before turning the lights out and going to bed. Also, television right before bed can leave certain images in a child’s head, and those images may or may not lead to nightmares. Try to make kids avoid television immediately before going to bed.

Night Terrors: Sometimes referred to as “sleep terrors,” night terrors are akin to waking nightmares, as the child (typically between the ages of 3 and 12) is both asleep and awake at the same time. These instances, which are frequent and recurrent, are characterized by intense fear and crying and can be extremely hard on parents, who should expect lots of difficulty when trying to arouse their child out of the state they’re in during a night terror. Oddly enough, children who experience night terrors don’t remember the instances the next morning, though they’re often severe and unforgettable to parents and other members of the household.

Typically, night terrors occur between one to two hours after falling asleep, and can be brief or continue for up to 30 minutes. When over, children often go right back to sleep. Controlling night terrors can be difficult, but it’s best to establish a distinct bedtime routine, ensure your child’s room is safe so he’s not injured during a possible episode and create a peaceful sleeping environment. Oftentimes, children cease experiencing night terrors in early adolescence.

Narcolepsy: This can also be a tough one for parents to wrap their heads around, as narcolepsy can occur even when children have had enough sleep. Narcolepsy is characterized by random and uncontrollable sleep attacks and excessive daytime sleepiness, and often begins when people are between the ages of 15 and 25, though it can show up earlier. While the direct cause is still a mystery, some experts feel it’s the result of a deficiency in the production of hypocretin, a chemical produced by the brain.

Courtesy of Metro Editorial Services.