James Donaldson on Mental Health - Quick Guide to Sleep-Wake Disorders

What are the symptoms of sleep-wake disorders?

How are sleep-wake disorders diagnosed?

How are sleep-wake disorders treated?

Children with sleep-wake disorders don’t sleep well.

Their lack of sleep affects their health and behavior.

All kids have the occasional bad night, but kids with sleep-wake disorders have serious trouble sleeping on a regular basis.

Sleep-wake disorders are a group of more than a dozen specific problems that can get in the way of kids’ sleep.

The most common sleep problem for children and teens is insomnia , which means trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep.

Others include hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness), obstructive sleep apnea (disrupted breathing during sleep) parasomnia (experiences during sleep like sleepwalking and night terrors), and delayed sleep phase syndrome (when a shift in their biological clock makes children or teens are unable to fall or stay asleep until hours past their normal bedtime).

What are the symptoms of sleep-wake disorders?