Sleep disorders treatment in children

In daily life, not only young people suffer from insomnia. In fact, children have to bear daily study pressure which will also have a certain impact on their sleep. For example, many friends will have sleep disorders in children. So how should we treat the symptoms? Let us learn about it together.

(1) Sleep disturbance and difficulty falling asleep: This is common in infants and young children. They often toss and turn, move their limbs, shake their heads repeatedly, cry for no reason, grind their teeth, talk in their sleep, etc. Some are unwilling to go to bed and need to be carried around, or they take a long time to fall asleep, have a shallow sleep, or wake up early.

(2) Night terrors: Common in children aged 2 to 5 years old, they usually occur about half an hour after falling asleep, and are characterized by sudden screaming, crying, frightened expression, trembling of hands and feet, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, and dilated pupils. During an attack, the EEG shows an a rhythm of awakening. Each night terror attack can last for 1 to 10 minutes. The patient falls asleep again after the attack and completely forgets the episode after waking up. Generally, night terrors disappear on their own as you age.

(3) Sleepwalking: It is relatively common and is often accompanied by nocturnal enuresis. Some children have a family history of the disease. The main symptoms are repeated occurrences of suddenly sitting up or getting out of bed while in deep sleep 1/2 to 2 hours after falling asleep, with unclear consciousness, touching things here and there, wandering around, or making some playful movements. It is difficult to wake up at this time, and the patient can fall asleep quietly again after about a few minutes or half an hour, and completely forget the incident afterwards.

treat

It is necessary to understand the causes of sleep disorders and take appropriate treatments and countermeasures. Develop good sleeping habits and set a regular bedtime. Avoid any exciting activities or watching scary TV programs before going to bed to reduce excessive study burden. Children with sleepwalking must be prevented from accidents such as falling out of windows. For children with recurrent sleep disorders, they can take an appropriate amount of diazepam or nitrazepam before bedtime. If the effect is seen, the treatment can be continued for 1 to 2 weeks. If sleep returns to normal, the medication can be gradually stopped. School-age children can be treated with a small dose of amitriptyline, 12.5-25 mg before bedtime, once a night.

In life, we should arrange a reasonable sleep time for children. Do not neglect their sleep because of studying. Having a good sleep time is the best rest for children's brains, so that children will become smarter and study harder.