Sleep Apnea or ADHD?
Sleep apnea is a condition that normally effects middle-aged, overweight adults. As one ages, tissues in the back of the throat become more flaccid. When severe, the tissues collapse, shutting off the airway during sleep.
Generally, someone's spouse complains of loud snoring that keeps her awake, of frequent episodes lasting up to a minute of silence (not breathing), followed by a sudden "gasping" arousal, followed by noise from breathing or snoring. The person with sleep apnea arouses from deep sleep to lighter stages of sleep, and are not usually aware of waking up. This can happen over and over again throughout the night.
Although the person feels that he slept through the night, he awakens exhausted because of the lack of deep sleep. They also don't feel refreshed after taking a nap. Because of lack of adequate deep sleep, they have problems concentrating during the day, just as you would if you only slept for four hours.
Children can also have sleep apnea, only it's not from aging, flaccid tissues in the back of the throat but from very enlarged tonsils blocking the airway. As with adults, they will be tired during the day, have problems concentrating, and might have other symptoms related to lack of sleep, such as irritability.
Only your pediatrician or an ENT specialist can determine whether your child's tonsils are enlarged enough to possibly block the airway and cause sleep apnea. If the tonsils appear to be significantly enlarged, confirmation of sleep apnea should be determined by a sleep study before any consideration of removing the tonsils. Not every child with enlarged tonsils or with loud snoring has sleep apnea, which can only be diagnosed by a sleep study.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, sleep apnea
Generally, someone's spouse complains of loud snoring that keeps her awake, of frequent episodes lasting up to a minute of silence (not breathing), followed by a sudden "gasping" arousal, followed by noise from breathing or snoring. The person with sleep apnea arouses from deep sleep to lighter stages of sleep, and are not usually aware of waking up. This can happen over and over again throughout the night.
Although the person feels that he slept through the night, he awakens exhausted because of the lack of deep sleep. They also don't feel refreshed after taking a nap. Because of lack of adequate deep sleep, they have problems concentrating during the day, just as you would if you only slept for four hours.
Children can also have sleep apnea, only it's not from aging, flaccid tissues in the back of the throat but from very enlarged tonsils blocking the airway. As with adults, they will be tired during the day, have problems concentrating, and might have other symptoms related to lack of sleep, such as irritability.
Only your pediatrician or an ENT specialist can determine whether your child's tonsils are enlarged enough to possibly block the airway and cause sleep apnea. If the tonsils appear to be significantly enlarged, confirmation of sleep apnea should be determined by a sleep study before any consideration of removing the tonsils. Not every child with enlarged tonsils or with loud snoring has sleep apnea, which can only be diagnosed by a sleep study.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, sleep apnea
