Sleep disorders in childhood: types, characteristics and symptoms

Sleep is a biological need, so when there is a lack of it or it is not completely restorative, they can develop other pathologies both physically and mentally, so it is important to try to find a solution to all those disorders of the sleep; especially in such a crucial stage as childhood.

There is a wide variety of sleep disorders in childhood, among which we can find the following: insomnia, childhood apnea, nightmare disorder, sleepwalking, night terrors, somniloquy or jactatio capitis, among others.

In this article we will talk about the most common sleep disorders in childhood, but first we are going to explain what sleep disorders consist of in general.

• Related article: "The 5 stages of sleep: from slow waves to REM"

What are the most common childhood sleep disorders?

People's sleep is divided into a series of cycles of 90 minutes duration each that are repeated cyclically throughout the night's rest, with the most common being that a person goes through 4-6 cycles during evening. In each of these cycles there are various phases (phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, phase 4 and phase 5 or REM phase).

For a restful sleep each and every one of the phases that make up each sleep cycle should pass normally, in order and uninterruptedly; however, various sleep disorders can occur in childhood that could interrupt them, causing certain problems for people's health. In addition, sleep disorders in childhood occur quite frequently, being one of the problems that appear most frequently in clinical practice, both in pediatrics and in psychology.

We speak of sleep disorders when we refer to any problem that is closely related to night rest or sleeping, including than to difficulties in trying to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, as well as those cases in which a person falls asleep at inappropriate times, sleeps excessively (hypersomnia), or engages in abnormal sleep behaviors (for example, somnambulism).

In a stage as important as childhood, it is very important that sleep is restful and rest enough hours (from 11-14 hours that a child should sleep between 1 year and 2 years until 9-12 that should sleep children between the ages of 6 and 12 years; therefore, a developing child should never sleep less than 9 or 10 hours).

On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that sleep disorders in childhood could cause significant problems that affect the child's quality of life (eg. g., irritability, decreased concentration and attention, etc.), as well as that of their convenient relatives, such as their parents and siblings (eg. g., sleep disturbances).

Now that we have briefly seen what sleep disorders consist of, We are going to see the most common sleep disorders in childhood, classifying them into two large categories: dyssomnias and parasomnias.

Dyssomnias

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) the term dyssomnias does not appear; however, it did appear in the previous version (DSM-IV-TR). Here we will use them to divide childhood sleep disorders into two large groups to facilitate their organization, thus being easier to understand when it comes to study them.

Within the category of dyssomnias we can find sleep disorders in childhood related to the difficulties that Some children present when trying to fall asleep, stay asleep and also those cases in which there is an excess of sleep.

1. Insomnia

Insomnia is one of the sleep disorders in childhood that we can find, and is characterized by a reduction in rest time and also in terms of sleep quality, causing clinically relevant discomfort in the child who suffers from it.

The main causes of insomnia in childhood are usually inadequate sleeping habits, so it is frequent bedtime problems and/or fairly frequent awakenings during bedtime evening; while another of the reasons for childhood insomnia could be that the child was suffering from some situation of anxiety and fear, so that when it comes to going to sleep had difficulty falling asleep due to worries that are manifested through thoughts that could cause anxiety and restlessness.

• You may be interested: "Insomnia: what is it and how it impacts our health"

2. Infantile Apnea or Ondine Syndrome

Another of the existing sleep disorders in childhood is infantile apnea, also known by the name of Ondina Syndrome, which is characterized by a series of respiratory arrests that you suffer while sleeping, causing snoring and also excessive sleepiness throughout the day.

In addition, these respiratory stops could appear repeatedly throughout the night's sleep, leading to awakenings and poor sleep.

• Related article: "Sleep apnea syndrome: symptoms, types, causes and treatment"

Parasomnias

We understand parasomnias to be all those sleep disorders in childhood that are characterized by the existence of some unusual or unusual physiological and/or experiential phenomenon or behavior during night rest that are associated with sleep, since they usually appear in one of the phases of the east or also in the transitions between sleep and wakefulness.

Some of these parasomnias, such as night terrors and sleepwalking, appear in the DSM-5 classified within the category of "non-REM sleep arousal disorders", not being serious disorders, but they can cause certain discomfort.

1. nightmare disorder

Nightmare disorder, formerly known as distressing dream disorder, is another of the most common childhood sleep disorders. It is also the most common parasomnia in childhood, and is characterized by the appearance during the night's rest of dreams with unpleasant and even fearful content, causing the child to wake up.

Sometimes, the fear caused by these nightmares could make it difficult for the child to go back to sleep, so that this could lead to insomnia.

Nightmare disorder is usually not serious, since it usually occurs over a period of time due to some factor stressful in the life of the child or for some other reason and tends to disappear when the phenomenon that triggered it has remitted. When nightmare disorder occurs, parents should try to calm their child by downplaying the content of the nightmares.

• You may be interested: "Psychological therapy to treat recurring nightmares"

2. Night terrors

Another of the most frequent sleep disorders in childhood is that of night terrors, which is thus known because of the appearance of episodes during sleep. frequent sudden awakenings with feelings of terror on the part of the child, so that it is common that during these awakenings he begins to scream because of panic sense. Furthermore, during these episodes, having experienced panic, there are a series of warning signs such as tachycardia, mydriasis, excessive sweating and/or tachypnea (rapid, shallow breathing).

It is worth mentioning that night terrors usually appear during the first third of the night, in stages 3 and 4 of sleep (in which the slow or deep sleep), being rare that they appear during the REM sleep phase, which is the phase in which episodes of sleep normally occur. nightmares.

• Related article: "Night Terrors: Panic During Sleep"

3. Somnambulism

The somnambulism It is known for the existence of repeated episodes during the night's sleep in which the child gets up from his bed and begins to walk around the house without waking up. Being in a state of sleep, during the sleepwalking episode the child walks with his gaze fixed and in when, in such a way that he is not aware of the intention of other people who may be around him (p. g., his siblings or his parents) trying to communicate with him, being very difficult to wake him up.

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that could last several years without causing any alteration during wakefulness nor cause any other type of discomfort or any other psychopathology; however, it could occur along with other problems related to sleep such as bedwetting, sleep talk or night terrors.

4. somniloquy

Somniloquy is a parsimony that is not classified as a specified disorder within the DSM-5 that should be known and is characterized by the existence of sound or speech episodes during sleep, being related to stressful situations and family history.

The episodes that occur in cases of somniloquy normally last only a few seconds and occur sporadically and, Although it could appear at any age, it is more common that they occur during the preschool stage (between 3 and 7 years of age). approximately).

5. Jactatio Capitis

Among sleep disorders in childhood we can also find Jactatio Capitis, being another parasomnia not listed as a specified disorder within the classification of the DSM-5.

It is characterized by the presence of a series of rocking movements to try to fall asleep that occur automatically. This type of movement, more specifically, consists of the rocking of the head in a rhythmic manner, and may occasionally be accompanied by movements of the whole body.

Normally, the movements that occur in the episodes of those who suffer from this parasomnia usually occur smoothly; however, in some cases it occurs more intensely and could cause injury.

6. nocturnal bruxism

Finally, among sleep disorders in childhood we can also find nocturnal bruxism, another parasomnia that is not specified in the DSM-5. It is characterized by the grinding of teeth that consists of a behavior that is developed by the muscles of the jaw in a rhythmic way., thus producing friction on the teeth, so that if this occurs strongly, the teeth could wear out.

In the case of nocturnal bruxism, we have found that it could be due to a family history, although It could also be caused by situations of anxiety and/or frustrating moments that the little boy.