Sleep Disorders in Children with Anxiety


Sleep disorders is a serious problem in both adults and children. It is more serious if detected in a child due to various reasons. First and foremost night time sleep is the time when body gets to rest, any physical damage also gets repaired during this time, regeneration of cells and growth is also dependent on it. There is no doubt that a child deprived of normal amount of sleep is going to be drowsy and less energetic the next day. This would mean missed classes and game sessions. Less concentration in lessons and over all, less productivity. How do you avoid this? Read on to know if your child is one of the children with anxiety who suffer from sleep disorders?

Sleep disorders and the many types

It is normal that sleep disorders are overlooked because f ignorance. There are so many types that people often do not know they exist and can affect the child’s health adversely if persist for long. It is difficult to induce sleep in some children, meaning it is very difficult to put them to sleep. Wakefulness in night time is a common point of terror for both children with anxiety and their parents. Then there are kids, who even after growing up are prone to bed wetting. There are some who suffer from insufficient sleep and acute snoring while sleeping. While these may seem simple and are dismissed by many parents, these problems could be indicators of serious physical or psychological issues that the child is going through.

Children with anxiety and night time parasomnia

There are cases where the child displays unusual behavior while sleeping. Sleep walking or rythematic movements like rocking or head banging is something that is quite common when the child suffers from parasomnia. The sleep is not getting fulfilled and body is not getting well rested in this type of patients. Nightmares and nightmares, getting paralyzed in terror after a particular bad dream, complain of hallucinations etc are also seen while examining children with anxiety.

Disruption of sleep cycle- probable causes and effects

Sleep cycle is disrupted when a child is not getting adequate sleep during a particular period of time. This is most prevalent in cases of children with anxiety. The causes can be as trivial as fight with friends, poor grades in school, scolding from a favorite teacher to something as grave as separation of parents. Often a change in the kind of environment the child is acquainted with might also trigger sleep disorders of any of the above types. Finally these could well be the outward manifestations of any health issues that your child is going through but being unable to express. Prolonged disruption in adequate sleep will affect your child’s health and development. It will reduce their mental potential and concentration abilities as well.

So if you suspect your child is one of the children with anxiety, and having difficulty to sleep then it is the best idea to get professional help as soon as possible.

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