Sleep Apnea In Children Could Produce Notably Lower IQ Scores - By: Don Saunders

Though it has been known for a considerable time now that children who suffer from sleep apnea normally produce low scores on IQ tests (as a rule scoring about 85 as opposed to a score of 101 without sleep apnea) what has not been known until recently is that this results from chemical changes in the brain. What this means is that a naturally 'clever' child might well produce a second-rate performance because of a sleep disorder which can be relatively easily treated in most cases.

In a study conducted at the Hopkin's Children's Centre in Baltimore a total of 31 children aged between 6 and 16 (19 of whom had severe sleep apnea) were examined using a form or magnetic resonance imaging and found that the children who were suffering from sleep apnea demonstrated important alterations in both the right frontal cortex and hippocampus - two sections of the brain associated with higher mental function and learning. This same study also found that these children had abnormal levels of three specific chemicals in the brain which is an indication of brain damage.

This change in the brain chemistry brought about by the presence of sleep apnea might or might not be lasting and additional studies are needed to see whether or not this affect can be reversed. But, even if this problem can be reversed and the chemistry of the brain and cognitive function can be returned to normal, children with sleep apnea are going to continue to display a loss in learning as long as they suffer from sleep apnea which is not treated and they will certainly not be able to turn back the clock and recover this period of learning.

Of course parents should already be on the lookout for indications of sleep apnea in their children however this latest study clearly indicates that the early treatment of this sleep disorder could well have a very significant affect on your child's future.

The symptoms of sleep apnea could include frequent pauses in breathing while sleeping which often cause an arousal from sleep as well as both tossing and turning. Children might also display loud or labored breathing, snoring, coughing, gasping and, now and again, bedwetting at an age when this phase should normally have passed. Parents could additionally note that a child is sleeping in a strange position, perhaps with their bottom sticking up in the air and their head tilted back in an unconscious attempt to force their airway open.

In the majority of cases child sleep apnea can be treated by surgically removing both the adenoids and tonsils or of excess tissue from the back of the throat or nose. Additionally, a continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine may also be used to provide the child with a flow of air delivered through a mask worn while sleeping to maintain an open airway.

Sleep apnea is in itself debilitating for any child and the affects of an extended period of inadequate sleep will take its toll on your child. But, when this is mixed with an impairment of a child's IQ, it becomes crucial that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to see that this problem is diagnosed and treated.

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Help-Me-To-Sleep.com provides extensive information and advice on a whole range of sleep disorders including sleep apnia and obstructive sleep apnea in a child

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