Children are busy these days with texting, talking on the phone, and video games and this could leave them heavily sleep deprived. Apart from all these gadgets and other activities there is another monster that’s robbing them of a good night’s rest.

Getting your kid to sleep like a baby is harder than ever these days. If you have a teen, you know exactly what is this all about.

Edward Grandi with the American Sleep Apnea Association says, “They go to bed and immediately they’re texting their friends, or they’re looking at movies.”

Or they’re on Facebook or Twitter or checking their email, it’s endless. Read the rest of this entry

The Center at Norwalk Hospital will be hosting its first Sleep Apnea Support Group for Children on Saturday, Nov. 12.  Parents and children are invited to attend the educational event.

Kass will address the group with a talk, “The Significance of Snoring at Any Age.”. In general, symptoms of sleep apnea in toddlers may include tantrums and irritability. As children get older, the lack of sleep may manifest itself as hyperactivity, acting out, poor grades in school, mood swings, and even a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

“In addition to the potential health issues associated with sleep apnea, we see children who suffer from fatigue and attention issues due to interruption in sleep,” said Kass.

The program is being offered as a public service and as part of A.W.A.K.E (Alert, Well, and Keeping Energetic) of the American Sleep Apnea Association.  A.W.A.K.E. is a health awareness program offered to those who suffer from sleep apnea, as well as their family, friends and anyone who is interested in learning more.

The Nov. 12 support group will include face painting and drawing activities for children.  Children are encouraged to bring their CPAP masks for a fitting by experienced sleep technicians.  CPAP users and family are being encouraged to share their tips for successful sleeping with CPAP.

Sleep Apnea Support Group for Children: 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12, in the fifth floor Patio Room at Norwalk Hospital.  The event is free and seating is limited.  Register by calling (203) 852-2821 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (203) 852-2821     end_of_the_skype_highlighting or (203) 852-2833 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (203) 852-2833     end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Snoring is among the common sleep problems in adults, especially in middle-aged men. And children and kids are equally prone to this most uncomfortable sleep disorder.The effects of snoring upon the overall health of children is established to be detrimental up to great extent.

Association of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA among kids and children has now become a more common occurrence. Across the globe occurrence of persistent snoring on most nights has been reported in 8-12 percent of children.

The incidence of OSA (with significant upper airway obstruction leading to   oxygen desaturation and/or sleep fragmentation) is 2-3 percent in children under the age of 10. Read the rest of this entry

The clinical syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) in children is a distinct, yet somewhat overlapping disorder with the condition that occurs in adults, such that the clinical manifestations, polysomnographic findings, diagnostic criteria and treatment approaches need to be considered in an age-specific manner. Childhood OSAS has now become widely recognized as a frequent disorder and as a major public health problem. Pediatric OSAS, particularly when obesity is concurrently present, is associated with substantial end-organ morbidities and increased healthcare utilization. Although adenotonsillectomy (T&A) remains the first line of treatment, evidence in recent years suggests that the outcomes of this surgical procedure may not be as favorable as expected, such that post-T&A polysomnographic evaluation may be needed, especially in high-risk patient groups. In addition, incorporation of nonsurgical approaches for milder forms of the disorder and for residual OSAS after T&A is now being investigated. Read the rest of this entry

A multidisciplinary clinical practice guideline, “Polysomnography for  Sleep-Disordered Breathing Prior to Tonsillectomy in Children“, was  published as a supplement to the July issue of Otolaryngology—Head  and Neck Surgery. This guideline provides otolaryngologists with  evidence-based recommendations for using polysomnography in assessing  children, aged 2 to 18 years, with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and  who are candidates for tonsillectomy, with or without adenoidectomy.

Polysomnography (PSG) is presently the gold standard for diagnosing  and quantifying sleep-disordered breathing in children. SDB affects  approximately 12% of children with manifestations ranging from simple  snoring to potentially serious conditions, including sleep apnea. SDB is  also the most common indication for tonsillectomy with or without  adenoidectomy in the United States. Since more than 530,000  tonsillectomies are performed annually on children younger than the age  of 15, primarily for SDB, clear and actionable guidance on optimal use  of PSG is strongly needed. Read the rest of this entry

Canada, like many other nations around the world, has a tremendous growth in the number of obese people. Currently, 59 per cent of Canadians are either overweight or obese and that is a much too high percentage for our supposedly healthy society. What’s even worse is that we are letting many of our adolescent communities reach this point of being overweight, or even obese.

Currently, a whooping 26 per cent of Canadian children from the ages or 2 to 17 years old are either overweight or obese. The rate of these obese children has almost tripled in the past 25 years. This clearly shows that we are doing something wrong to help create a healthier and happier life for our future teenagers and adults. Read the rest of this entry

1. Sleep apnea affects up to 18 million Americans
2. The condition was first described in 1965
3. “Apnea” comes from a Greek word meaning “want of breath.”
4. People with sleep apnea can stop breathing as many as 30 times or more each night.
5. Often a spouse or other family member is the first to notice signs of sleep apnea in someone with the condition.
6. Officials estimate 10 million Americans have the condition but have not been diagnosed. Read the rest of this entry

According to statistics, sleep apnea is a common cause of death among infants not more than one year old—a condition which we call SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Definitely, losing a baby due to such condition can be very traumatic and depressing so it is very important be vigilant and watchful of your baby’s sleep behavior and breathing patterns.

Since babies with sleep apnea aren’t able to get the correct amount of sleep, oxygen supply to their young and developing body organs is not adequate. This may lead to effects on the kid’s performance when he or she grows, mostly are negative i.e. ADHD and other behavioral disorders.[ Read Complete Post By Cliff ... ]

As parents, we consider nothing more important than the health and well-being of our children. We make sure they eat well, get their checkups, are immunized to prevent serious illnesses, and see a doctor when they are sick. Yet many parents are unaware that problems may occur at a time they least expect — while their children are asleep.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which the airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep, occurs in 1 to 3 percent of otherwise healthy children.

While long recognized in adults, Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has only recently been recognized as a significant problem for children.

Children with Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) frequently snore and may have difficulty breathing while asleep. They may have pauses in their breathing (called apneas), which can be followed by a sudden gasping for air. Their sleep can be restless, with tossing and turning, and they may sleep in unusual or contorted positions in an attempt to open up their blocked airway.

If left untreated, children are at risk for many physical as well as behavioral problems.

Obesity is associated with obstructive sleep apnea in the adult and pediatric population. The aim of a recently concluded research study was to assess the association between increasing body mass index on the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in children.

We reviewed retrospectively 740 children with symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep apnea who underwent a sleep study at an inner
city university hospital. Obstructive sleep apnea was defined as respiratory disturbance index of 5 per hour or more. Statistical analysis included chi square test and regression analysis. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep Apnea of prematurity is one of the most common diagnoses in the NICU. Because resolution of sleep apnea is a usual precondition for discharge from the hospital, different monitoring practices might affect length of stay for premature infants.

The research was centered on the objective to compare the proportion of 33 to 34 weeks’ gestational age infants diagnosed with sleep apnea in different NICUs and to assess whether variability in length of stay would be affected by the rate of documented sleep apnea.

This was a prospective cohort study of moderately preterm infants who survived to discharge in 10 NICUs in Massachusetts and California. ^{Read the rest of this entry}

A research concluded recently with an objective to determine the cost-effectiveness of treatment with caffeine compared with placebo for sleep apnea of prematurity in infants with birth weights less than 1250 g, from birth through 18 to 21 months’ corrected age.

The researchers undertook a retrospective economic evaluation of the cost per survivor without neurodevelopmental impairment by using individual-patient data from the Caffeine for Sleep Apnea of Prematurity clinical trial (N = 1869). Read the rest of this entry

A recently concluded research shows an association between sleep disorders in school-age children and behavior disorders such as ADHD. The sleep disorder that was in the focus in this research study was obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA.

There are many population studies from all over the world showing that approximately 2-3% of children have OSA. Just as in adults, this disorder is caused by a collapse of the upper airway during sleep. This results in a drop in oxygen, a rise in carbon dioxide, and fragmented sleep because the brain is disturbed by these fluctuations in oxygen and CO2. The classic example of a kid with sleep apnea is the skinny kid with big tonsils. Read the rest of this entry

In a recently concluded research the researchers aimed to estimate the population prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in an urban community of German third graders (age range 7.3–12.4 yrs) and the diagnostic test accuracy of two OSA screening methods.

Using a cross-sectional study design with a multi-stage sampling strategy, 27 out of 59 primary schools within the city limits of Hanover, Germany, were selected. 1,144 third graders were screened for symptoms and signs of OSA using questionnaires and nocturnal home pulse oximetry. 183 children underwent abbreviated nocturnal home polysomnography (OSA definition: apnoea/hypopnoea index ?1) and 22 were diagnosed to suffer from OSA. Read the rest of this entry