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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

Emily Halevy | CWK Producer

Many experts say that one of today’s major health problems is insomnia: taking a long time to fall asleep or tossing and turning for most of the night. And some of the people who suffer from insomnia don’t seem old enough to have trouble sleeping -- they’re just kids.

For Ashton, today is like almost every other day.

“I’m tired, I didn’t get any sleep,” says Ashton, 10.

But tonight Ashton is going to be in a sleep lab where doctors hope to diagnose her insomnia.

“We noticed basically that she was very irritable during the day -- very tired. We noticed that she was getting up a lot during the night, too,” says Sean, Ashton’s father.

According to a study by the University of Texas, almost half of kids ages 11 to 17 experience symptoms of insomnia. For 22 percent of teens, it’s serious enough to require treatment.

“There are a number of kids out there that have honest-to-goodness insomnia difficulties; they have sleep disorders that do require treatment. The key is proper diagnosis and evaluation prior to the treatment taking place.” says Dr. Richard Winer, M.D., psychiatrist.

Experts say that sleep can be interrupted by snoring, sleep apnea and/or restless leg syndrome, as well as psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety.

“There are kids who are working tremendous numbers of hours each evening to get their schoolwork done, and in conjunction with that I get a sense that many of them worry about how they are doing academically. That tends to spill over into difficulties with sleep,” says Dr. Winer.

What can parents do? Experts say to set a regular sleep schedule, take all electronics out of the bedroom (including cell phones), and, if symptoms persist for more than a month, see a doctor.

It turns out that Ashton’s problem was restless leg syndrome -- pain and twitching that kept her up for hours. With medication and her doctors’ advice, she’s improving.

“They’ve given us the advice to structure her sleep time and get the rest of the family structured as well, and that’s really helped,” says Sean.

Studies have shown that once girls reach puberty, they’re 2 ½ times more likely than boys to experience chronic or recurrent insomnia.

Tips for Parents

• Insomnia symptoms may include:  (MayoClinic)
• Difficulty falling asleep at night
• Waking up during the night
• Waking up too early
• Daytime fatigue or sleepiness
• Daytime irritability
  
• Common insomnia causes include: (MayoClinic)
• Stress. Concerns about work, school, health or family can keep your mind too active, making you unable to relax. Excessive boredom, such as after retirement or during a long illness, may also create stress and keep you awake.
• Anxiety. Everyday anxieties as well as severe anxiety disorders may keep your mind too alert to fall asleep.
• Depression. You may either sleep too much or have trouble sleeping if you're depressed. This may be due to chemical imbalances in your brain or because worries that accompany depression may keep you from relaxing enough to fall asleep.
• Stimulants. Prescription drugs, including some antidepressants, high blood pressure and corticosteroid medications, can interfere with sleep. Many over-the-counter (OTC) medications, including some pain medication, decongestants and weight-loss products, contain caffeine and other stimulants.
• If insomnia has been interfering with your daytime functioning for a month or longer, see your doctor to determine what might be the cause of your sleep problem and how it might be treated. (MayoClinic)
• Behavioral treatments teach you new sleep behaviors and ways to make your sleeping environment more conducive to sleep. Some studies have shown behavioral therapies are equally or more effective than sleep medications. They can also be used in combination with prescription sleeping medications.
• Doctors generally don't recommend relying on prescription sleeping pills for more than a few days because they may cause side effects, and developing your ability to sleep without the help of medication is the goal. In addition, sleeping pills can become habit-forming and become less effective after a while.
• No matter what your age, insomnia usually is treatable. The key often lies in changes to your routine during the day and when you go to bed. Try these tips:
  • Stick to a schedule. Keep your bedtime and wake time on a constant schedule.
  • Limit your time in bed. Too much time in bed can promote shallow, unrestful sleep.
  • Avoid trying to sleep. The harder you try, the more awake you'll become. Read or watch television until you become very drowsy, then go to bed to sleep. Get up in the morning at the same time as usual.
  • Hide the bedroom clocks. Set your alarm so that you know when to get up, but then hide all clocks in your bedroom. The less you know what time it is at night, the better you'll sleep.
  • Exercise and stay active. Get at least 20 to 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily, preferably at least five to six hours before bedtime.
  • Avoid or limit caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Drinking caffeine and/or using nicotine after lunchtime can keep you from falling asleep at night. Alcohol, while it may initially make you feel sleepy, can cause unrestful sleep and frequent awakenings.
  • Reset your body's clock. If you fall asleep too early and then wake up too early, use light to push back your internal clock. During times of the year when it's light outside in the evenings, go outside for 30 minutes or obtain light via a medical-grade light box.

References

• MayoClinic

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