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Do you find your child breathing heavily during sleep? Or snoring loudly and occasionally pausing?
This could be an early sign of the development of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), when breathing stops for prolonged periods of time during sleep. This causes a dip in the oxygen levels in the brain thus interrupting your child’s sleep. OSA is prevalent in up to 3% of children and is linked to poor sleep quality. A family history of OSA, being overweight and signs of daytime sleepiness are associated with this condition.
Children developing OSA are reported as having difficulty concentrating during classes, a poor memory and lower IQs, which may eventually lead to lower grades for school tests.
If you think your child might have OSA, it is well advised to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Indeed performance in school tests is known to be substantially better following an effective treatment to OSA, so it would not be wise to let such a condition aside thinking the problem will solves itself.
Sources:
Gozal, D. 2008. Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children: Implications for the Developing Central Nervous System. Seminars in Pediatric Neurology. 15(2), pp.100–106.
