There is ever increasing evidence that snoring in children is on the rise. This is mainly due to the sedentary lives led by children these days. Lack of exercise and bad food habits leads to obesity, which is a major cause of snoring. Other reasons could be the same as in adults: cold, allergy, over tiredness.
Sometimes, in children also, snoring can be caused by other respiratory disorders like asthma or can be because of serious problems like sleep apnea, which can be fatal, specially in case of small children and infants. Whatever the cause of snoring, snoring can lead to a disturbed sleeping pattern in the child. This results in the child not receiving adequate rest during the night. In general, children need at least eight hours of sleep. Inadequate sleep can make the child dull and unable to concentrate for even short periods. In this case, the child tends to mimic symptoms of ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
Children who have ADHD, a behavioral disorder cannot hold their attention on anything for a long time. They have short attention span and lose focus very easily. These children are extremely hyperactive and suffer from many behavioral and emotional issues. Such children were treated with prescription drug Ritalin, which is supposed to help improve their behavior in society as well as increase their attention span.
Research has proved that sleep deprivation in children caused due to chronic snoring or snoring because of cold, allergies can lead to behavioral patterns similar to ADHD. Such children are often misdiagnosed with ADHD and are made to take prescription drugs. Such a treatment can cause various other health problems and long term changes in the child's physiology. It is very important that the child be properly diagnosed of the actual cause of dullness and lack of focus and be prevented from taking unnecessary prescription drugs.
Children should be made to maintain their sleep timings. They should go to bed at the same time each day so that they get adequate rest of eight hours of sleep every day. This is to ensure that their brains are rested and fresh for the new day. Care should be taken from the very beginning that their snoring reduces and if it is caused by illnesses like common cold, then they should be made to sleep such that their nasal passages are open during the night, like putting a high pillow under their head. Regular exercise is a must for a healthy body and also it helps reduce the fat around the throat area which again causes blockage of airflow.
Snoring in children should be taken in a serious light. Nightly monitoring should be performed to learn about their sleeping patterns and changes in it should be made accordingly so that children do not form the chronic habit of snoring and are not misdiagnosed with other serious behavioral problems. Children's habitual snoring problems should be resolved so that they have a better quality of life, which each child deserves.
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