Children's sleep related behavioral problems like difficulty in falling asleep and waking up frequently are often caused by underlying respiratory-related problems, a team of researchers say.
According to the study published Dec.4 in the online edition of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, children with sleep-related breathing problems like snoring or apnea are also more likely to have behavioral sleep problems like difficulty in getting a sound sleep and waking up frequently.
Between 3 percent and 12 percent of children in the country snore and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects one to 10 percent of American children, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes abnormal stoppage of breathing while sleeping.
To examine the prevalence of behavioral sleep problems and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) among children, Dr. Karen Bonuck and colleagues looked at 11,000 children, aged between 18 months and five years, part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in UK.
Parents of the children filled an online questionnaire related to snoring and apnea at different stages of growth- 18, 30, 42 and 57 months of age.
Behavior problems of the participants were decided through a check list provided to the parents. The check list contained questions related to the child's sleep habit- willingness of the child in retiring to bed, waking up early regularly, difficulty in falling asleep, nightmares and getting up frequently. Children with five or more problems were considered at higher risks of a behavior sleep problem.
Researchers found behavioral sleep problems more prevalent during 30 months of age. Of the total children with behavioral sleep problems, a significant number of children (between 26 and 40 percent) had habitual SDB and between 25 and 37 percent of children with habitual SDB had a behavioral sleep problem.
"Our findings should raise awareness among parents and physicians that if a child is sleeping poorly, they should delve deeper to see if there is an unrecognized respiratory-related sleep problem. The best way to make sure this happens is by taking an interdisciplinary approach to the care of these children," senior author Bonuck, said in a news release.
"It's important that we pay attention to how our children are sleeping. There's ample evidence that anything that interrupts sleep can negatively affect a child's emotional, cognitive, behavioral and academic development. Fortunately, snoring and apnea are highly treatable, and there are many effective interventions for behavioral sleep problems."
