Child Sleep Disorders Lead to Bad Behavior

Research on childhood sleep disorders is showing that sleep problems at a young age can be the cause of behavioral and emotional problems later.  Sleep disorders that occur among children include snoring, breathing through only the mouth and sleep apnea. Dr. Karen Bonuck of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York headed a study which concluded that breathing problems caused by sleep disorders in children from 6 to 9 years of age had a 60% probability of behavioral problems.

The research Dr. Bonuck conducted along with her colleagues found that kids with persistent child sleep problems tended to develop behavioral problems like hyperactivity, plus have other difficulties with social conduct.  Her longitudinal research was published in Pediatrics. Furthermore, the team also found that, even if the kids were already treated for their sleep disorders, there was a still 40-50% risk of developing behavioral issues when they reach the age of 7.  These children were compared to those who did not have child sleep disorders.

Other conclusions included a connection between depression, anxiety and child sleep problems. It was revealed that upon the age of 7, elevated behavioral problems occur 32-65% of the time among the test subjects. It was also noted that sleep-disordered breathing should be treated even at the early age of 1.

One common method of treatment for sleep-disordered breathing among children is surgery to take out enlarged tonsils and adenoids. These are the main causes of breathing issues in children. Dr. Bonuch described the remedy to another publication, MedPage Today, and she said that parents should not feel worried because reducing the symptoms of sleep disorders early in life is most likely to have future benefits.

For pediatricians and others dealing with children, the question of whether a child is sleeping well is not enough.  Parents and health care practitioners should look into child sleep problems and have these diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. Snoring is not indicative of deep sleep and parents should attend to this matter without hesitation.

Dr. Stephen Lauer, PhD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, said that sleep-disordered breathing is quite common. He commented that children are checked up for large tonsillitis and, if parents report behavioral issues, low school performance and hyperactivity, then he would start asking about sleeping difficulties.

Another doctor from the Gundersen Lutheran Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Dr. Rajiv Naik, related that treatment would certainly help with performance and hyperactivity situations in children.  Proper treatment of child sleep problems has greatly improved quality of life in both the home and at school.

Dr. Bonuck’s team also deduced that only longitudinal observational data can bring a final conclusion through multicenter and randomized controlled trials.  The National Institutes of Health has funded such study on Childhood Adenotonsillectomy. Such study can help to demonstrate the relationship between child sleep problems and developmental issues.

It was shown in the Bonuck study that hyperactivity was the result of symptomatic sleep-disordered breathing.  Other conduct problems were also cited like non-conformism to rules and aggressiveness. Such behavior should alarm parents, who should have their children treated for child sleep problems if they notice these tendencies. Parents can find a sleep doctor for more help.