Sleep Problems Therapy

Although most people develop insomnia during adulthood and on periods in their lives that are very stressful, insomnia in kids is also possible. This is very much true for some people who are unfortunately born with insomnia in family genes. Thus, insomnia can be an inherited condition too.

Getting To Know The Condition

The condition behind insomnia in family genes, is called Fatal Familial Insomnia. This is actually an extremely rare gene disorder that affects less than fifty families all over the world.

Having insomnia in family heredity can be a burden that could sometimes lead into a fatal ending. As soon as the condition manifests, you would not be able to sleep. In fact, within a span of 18 months, you would completely lose your ability to sleep.

Having insomnia in family genes is caused by a mutation of a special protein that causes plaque to build up in your thalamus, which is the part of your brain that is in charge of controlling sleep.

This would be the initial stage of having fatal familial insomnia. Generally, you would start to develop insomnia and within four months of further progression, you can start having panic attacks and groundless fears of everything around you. For the next five months, your panic attacks would become even more prominent. Additionally, you would start having hallucinations because of sleep deprivation.

During the condition’s last few stages, which are usually about three months, you would completely lose your ability to sleep. When this happens, you may also experience rapid weight loss that is beyond the normal rate. The last stage of the condition would typically result to dementia. During this stage, you may also become mute, which would continue to happen for the final 6 months of the condition’s progression.

Generally, this is what happens throughout the condition’s final stage and in time would lean to death. Sadly, experts have not yet found any treatment or cure for Fatal Familial Insomnia.

Children With Insomnia In Family Heritage

Children who have insomnia in their family genes are quite ill-fated since at a young age, sleep is very important. Additionally, most parents overlook the possibility that kids can also have insomnia. So, if you know that your family has had a rich history of insomnia cases, it would be recommended that you give your child adequate attention, especially regarding his/her sleeping patterns.

Once you see signs of your child having sleeping problems and that you are extremely sure that he/she is clear of any stresses or physical discomforts and pains, then it would be best that you have him/her checked-up by your doctor to look out for the probability of inherited insomnia.

One of the most common sleep disorders that affect all age groups is insomnia. Although stress could be the main cause of this condition in adults, insomnia in children can occur for entirely different reasons. However, such causes can still be treated, especially if given adequate attention at the right time.

What Causes Insomnia in Children?

Insomnia in children is supposed to be due to 2 main reasons. First, and the most common would be the failure to allot and keep a specific bed time for the child. When this happens, your child is more susceptible to developing insomnia since he/she wouldn’t have a sleeping pattern to stick to. Therefore, as a parent, it’s very important for you to insist on assigning a bedtime hour for your child and make sure that it is followed accordingly.

The next general reason for insomnia in children would be Sleep Onset Association Disorder. This happens when a familiar object, like a blanket or pillow, which the child grew accustomed to, is absent. Familiar activities can also be a factor. For instance, your storytelling before bedtime or singing to your child suddenly stops.

Some lesser factors like stress, constipation and having insomnia in family, or having the condition common to your lineage, also play as vital factors.

Treatment

Insomnia in children is quite a very delicate problem and sadly it is often not discovered, until the child has already become an adult or adolescent. However, if ever you have already discovered that your child is suffering from insomnia, the best thing to do is consult your doctor immediately to get verification for the condition and treatment for the condition.

Generally, childhood insomnia can be treated by making some life style changes, doing some exercises, diet patterns and TV watching. For some, hypnosis is advised for the child to be able to restore a natural sleeping pattern. It is very rare that medication is prescribed for insomnia in children. However, if a prescription is given, it is most likely for a very limited amount of time only.

Some Tips To Keep

It’s important to note that children are fragile and most likely, their natural habits and system could easily be disrupted, especially if you’re not paying attention to them. Even the smallest mistakes overlooked during childhood can have a big effect on their life. Thus, paying close attention to every detail of your child’s life can be one of the best things to do to prevent insomnia from developing.

Children suffering from childhood insomnia can dread the coming of the night, since it would yet be another sleepless one for them. No matter how old or young your child is, for sure, if he or she has childhood insomnia, then he/she sees it to be an unpleasing experience.

Insomnia in children can actually show in different forms, unlike in adults where difficulty to sleep is the main symptom. Here are some of the most common sleeping behaviors that those with childhood insomnia manifest.

On Guard for Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking is one common pattern that childhood insomnia can show. Although it seems as if it were harmless, sleepwalking, which is also known as Somnambulism, could actually bring danger to your child. Regardless of the common belief or saying that children should be awakened gently for them to avoid having serious injuries, if you let your kid sleepwalk, he/she can fall down or go out of your house and walk into traffic.

Sleepwalking has a number of possible causes. For one, the condition can be something that runs in the family. Another would be having an undeveloped central nervous system that is more common with children and is frequently, but not all the time, outgrown when adulthood arrives.

Bed Wetting

This behavior, which is also termed as Sleep Enuresis, could be caused by several psychiatric disorders, urinary tract infection, diabetes, epilepsy or sleep apnea. However, there are times in which no serious reason is responsible for the behavior and that the child simply needs to be emptied before going to bed. If you think that a major reason is behind your child’s bed wetting, then he/she must go under a full physical check-up to rule out different medical conditions.

Once the cause is pointed out, behavior modification, medications and alarm devices, could be used to take care of the condition.

Sleep Apnea

This is yet another sleeping problem that children with childhood insomnia can manifest. In this condition, airflow from the nostrils and mouth are blocked, causing the child to be prevented from breathing for a maximum of 10 seconds.

This is quite a scary condition to have and symptoms include color change, tone change, and noisy breathing when sleeping. The good thing is children have the ability to outgrow this behavior.

These are just some of the common sleeping patterns that children with childhood insomnia can show. However, not all kids can show all patterns and some don’t even show one. It could be the case that a child with insomnia simply can’t sleep at all, but when the time he/she falls asleep, not other sleeping behaviors manifest.