Do your children seem sleep-deprived or like they could be getting a better night’s sleep? Chicago Sleep Center sees both children and adults.
We offer full pediatric testing and special pediatric sleep study beds for comfortable and easy testing at our new Skokie location.
Can children have sleep disorders too?
Like adults, children can become sleep deprived too. Chicago Sleep Center sees children of all ages and offers sleep studies to children ages two and up. Chicago Sleep Center’s new Skokie location offers full pediatric testing and special pediatric sleep study beds for comfortable and easy testing. Additionally, our diverse and talented team of pediatric experts enables comprehensive, holistic pediatric care.
Pediatric Sleep Disorders
We treat the following pediatric sleep disorders and more:
- Sleep Apnea
- Snoring
- Mouth Breathing
- Enlarged Tonsils
- Bedwetting
- Sleepwalking
- Night Terrors
What Sleeping Disorders are Common in Children?
Many sleeping disorders are more common in children than adults. It’s not uncommon for children to experience occasional night terrors and to sleepwalk.
It’s also common for children to wet the bed. These occasional night-time incidents are expected and don’t require any intervention.
But if a child experiences sleeping disturbances frequently, they should be examined by a sleep specialist who can diagnose them and recommend treatment. Often, there’s an underlying cause to frequent night-time disturbances.
Sleep apnea, while more common in adults, can occur in children and trigger other sleeping disorders. Sleep apnea needs to be treated as there can be a risk of death.
Sleep apnea occurs when a person’s airway becomes obstructed while sleeping, making it harder to breathe in enough air. While rare, there’s always some risk that someone with untreated sleep apnea may have their airway obstructed completely and suffocate.
Since sleep apnea can be an underlying cause for other sleeping disturbances, it’s best to have your child examined as soon as possible if you notice them experiencing these disturbances more often.
How Do You Test Children for Sleeping Disorders?
Children’s sleep disorders are diagnosed the same way they are with adults by taking a sleep study. Our sleep center in Skokie features complete pediatric sleep testing.
Sleep studies for children work just like sleep studies for adults, but with staff members trained to work with children and equipment fitted for them.
For an overnight sleep study, your child will sleep overnight while hooked up to a polysomnogram. A polysomnogram is a device that takes a series of readings while the child is sleeping.
Polysomnography measures breathing, limb movement, brain activity, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. Assessing all these readings helps our sleep specialists diagnose whatever may be affecting your child’s sleep.
If your child experiences certain symptoms, they may also get tested during the day through something called a Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). This test is usually designed to diagnose hypersomnia, which is a disorder that makes a person sleepy during the day despite having an undisturbed evening of sleep.
MSLT monitors a patient’s sleep over short periods during the day and tracks how quickly they fall asleep.
What Should You Do if Your Child Has a Sleeping Disorder?
If your child has been diagnosed with a sleeping disorder, our specialists at Chicago Sleep Center are equipped to recommend a holistic treatment plan based on your child’s unique needs. If your child has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, there are several treatment options.
They may need to use a CPAP machine or an oral appliance. A common cause for sleep apnea in children is enlarged tonsils. In that case, they may need to be removed surgically during a tonsillectomy.
When an underlying cause like sleep apnea is treated, patients tend to have a better quality of sleep, and symptoms of other sleeping disorders are reduced. But there are still treatment options if you can’t identify an underlying cause for issues like frequent bedwetting or night terrors.
Often, the best treatment is cognitive behavior therapy. Our specialists can refer you to a child therapist who can help them work through any psychological triggers and adjust their sleeping habits.
Whatever sleeping issues your child has been experiencing, we can help get them the treatment they need. Not sure if your child may have a sleep disorder? Schedule an appointment at Chicago Sleep Center in Chicago, IL, to learn more!
