Specialists at The Center for Sleep Medicine can detect conditions that may be keeping your child from sleeping properly.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when a child's airway closes partway or all the way during sleep, blocking air from getting in. The drop in oxygen signals the brain to wake your child up, stopping him or her from getting the proper amount of sleep. In children without other medical conditions, enlarged tonsils or adenoids most often cause the blockage. This problem is most likely to happen during sleep when the throat muscles and tongue are most relaxed.
Central Sleep Apnea
Apnea refers to short pauses in breathing. Usually, these pauses are normal but when they occur often and last longer than about 20 seconds, they can cause problems. In children with central sleep apnea, the part of the brain that controls breathing doesn't start or maintain the breathing process as it should. This condition can affect babies, especially those who are born early (premature), because the breathing control center in the brain is not fully developed.
Excessive Sommolence (Drowsiness)
Young people with excessive somnolence are often very tired during the daytime or sleep for very long periods at night. These disorders, sometimes called hypersomnia, are different from sometimes feeling tired after not getting enough sleep at night. Signs of this condition often appear during the teen years or early adulthood. Your child may nap a lot during the day, fall asleep at odd times or find it very hard to wake up after a long sleep. Excessive somnolence may be caused by other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or sleep apnea.
Insomnias
Insomnias are disorders that make it very hard to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Most people have trouble sleeping once in a while. Babies and young children often wake up naturally during the night. But when children have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep and the problem lasts a long time, a condition such as restless legs syndrome or obstructive sleep apnea may be the cause.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy causes tiredness that can't be controlled. People with narcolepsy, including children and teens, have "sleep attacks." Even if they have had a normal night's sleep, they may fall asleep without any warning during the day. These sleep attacks last from several seconds to a half hour or more. Signs of narcolepsy often appear during the teen years.
Parasomnias (Night Terrors / Sleep Walking)
Parasomnias are disruptions in your child's sleep. Night terrors may seem like nightmares but they are far more intense. During a night terror, you may not be able to comfort your child. Signs of a night terror are sitting up in bed, shouting or screaming. During sleep walking your child may seem confused or partly awake. They may either stay in bed or walk around without seeming to be aware of their surroundings.
The next morning, children often will not remember either night terrors or sleep walking. While scary for parents, night terrors usually do not harm children. In some cases, though, night terrors and sleep walking may be a sign of another sleep disorder that your child may have.
Sleep Phase Disorders
Circadian rhythm disorders are disruptions in your child's regular daily cycles, including sleeping and waking. Most circadian rhythms are controlled by the "clock" in the brain that runs the body. Circadian rhythm disorders may be caused by a mismatch between the internal body clock's setting and conditions in the outside world - a common example is jet leg. They may also be a sign of a problem within the clock itself. Teenagers often have this type of problem as their internal clock is naturally adjusted to a later schedule.
Sleep Related Movement Disorders
Sleep-related movement disorders include head banging, body rocking, periodic limb movements and growing pains (benign nocturnal limb pain of children). While the causes of these disorders are different, they all make it hard for your child to sleep, whether due to a strong urge to move (restless legs syndrome), muscle pain (growing pains) or involuntary movement (periodic limb movements and head banging).
Using state-of-the-art monitoring equipment and computer software to record data during sleep, experienced physicians can pin-point the disorder, allowing the referring physician to prescribe therapy for your child. In addition to doctors and nurses who specialize in caring for young people, our team includes registered Polysomnographic technologists who monitor and interpret children's sleep studies.
The Center for Sleep Medicine offers a full range of services to get to the bottom of your child's difficulty with sleep, including:
Polysomnography (Sleep Study)
Doctors use polysomnography (PSG or sleep study) to identify sleep problems. During sleep, the body acts differently than while awake.
A sleep study monitors your child's body functions during sleep including sleep stages, eye movements, brain waves, muscle activity, breathing, body positions and heart rhythm.
Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT)
A Multiple Sleep Latency Test is a daytime nap study that gathers information about your child's sleepiness during the day.
The test is usually done right after a polysomnography (PSG or sleep study). During the MSLT, your child will take a series of naps every two hours throughout the day.
Sleep Study with CPAP, BIPAP, or Oxygen
Children usually have sleep studies with CPAP or BiPAP after they have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea or another breathing disorder during sleep. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and BiPAP for Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure.
Both studies use machines that get more of the air in the room to your child to help with breathing during sleep. During these tests, your child sleeps wearing a facemask hooked to a special air pressure device that delivers the right amount of air pressure to keep your child’s aiway open. The results determine the correct air pressure setting for you to set up a CPAP or BiPAP machine in your home. A sleep study may also be done with extra oxygen to help your child's breathing.
