San José, Costa Rica. May, 2015.

Disorders such as night terrors, somnambulism, nightmares, insomnia or sleep apnea, are the most common sleeping problems small children may suffer.

According to Dr. Jorge Martínez Vásquez, pediatrician of the Clínica Bíblica Hospital, “ailments such as gastroesophageal reflux, allergy to cow´s milk protein or adenoid hypertrophy could be affecting your baby´s sleep.

Usually the cause of sleep disorder in children consists in an inadequate way of sleeping for the baby, since often the baby falls asleep in conditions in which he is not going to sleep all night, like for example rocking, singing or feeding him. This results in the baby falling deeply asleep and after 2 or 3 hours waking up wanting to find himself in the same conditions.

Consequences of not sleeping well

Not sleeping well could affect the intellectual and motor development of the child, not resting well makes the child irritable and thus, he does not learn in the same way. Since he does not sleep well, the child does not function well during the day and if he snores a lot and this causes him to wake up, there are usually very marked night terrors.

“Not sleeping enough hours may cause problems such as irritability. School children who do not sleep well do not learn well. The number of sleep hours will depend on the age of the child, however, the average is between 12 and 14 hours a day,” said Dr. Martínez.

In the case of hyperactive children, they tend to sleep less and take longer to fall asleep.

Identifying the sleep disorders in babies can be done through a clinical diagnosis. It should be said that not all the cases are severe or merit treatment. It is important that the child sleep peacefully and in a relaxed environment. For further information or for requesting medical attention, please call the number 2522-1000, or write to the email citas@clinicabiblica.com or contact us via chat at the website: www.clinicabiblica.com.