How to get your kid to sleep

Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock:

Kids can also have obstructive sleep apnea.

PIPPA GARDNER FOR 7NEWS INVESTIGATIONSMarch 19, 2014, 7:39 pm

Up to 30 per cent of children under the age of three will suffer some form of sleep disorder.

Youngsters who do not get enough sleep can suffer from behavioural problems such mood swings and even depression.

Tresillian is sleep bootcamp for tired parents and their kids.

"Sleep is so important for a child's brain development for growth, and to have good behaviour,” a sleep expert from Tresillian said.

A common complaint from parents with kids who can’t sleep properly is ‘night walking’, a pattern which experts at Tresillian say kids can form.

Tresillian's tips to fix night walking

A consistent bedtime routine.
A calm quiet environment to sleep.
Being persistent and patient when resettling.

“Being consistent and persistent with their routine is really important and it takes six weeks once people have come into Tresillian to continue this to have the routine set, so it's not a quick fix,” the expert said.

Many parents also battle with short day sleeps.

Tresillian's tips to help getting kids to sleep

Set up a bedtime routine and stick to it.
Read your child's cues by putting them to bed before they're exhausted.
Try playing music.

“It’s just important they have that consistency of you coming back and reassuring them, eventually that will develop into a good routine and eventually they will sleep."

Tired parents will try anything to get their child to fall sleep, but Tresillian says parents should not fall into the trap of patting, rocking or driving your baby to sleep to create sleep associations that can become hard to break.

However, for the small percentage of children who have sleep problems that require medical treatment, experts say it is important parents do not ignore warning signs, such as snoring.

“Ninety per cent of children do not snore, so when a child snores parents should not assume it is just ‘cute’ or it is just the child and that it's normal to snore, [because] it's not,” the expert said.

Four-year-old Abby was a terrible sleeper and also snored, until her mother took action.

"Every morning she was in a bad mood and crying when she would wake up and really loud snoring every night,” Abby’s mum Laura said.

Enlarged tonsils blocking her airways triggered Abby’s snoring, a condition known as sleep apnoea.

Her tonsils have since been removed.

“Since the surgery, it's been amazing, she wakes up happy, she's got more concentration, we don't hear her snoring and she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night,” Laura said.

Snoring During Pregnancy May Harm Your Baby’s Health

Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock:
Pregnant women who snore, can increase their risk of pre-eclampsia or high blood pressure.

By Eric Cohen, MD

Published Mar 12, 2014

For a lot of us, snoring is simply a part of life.  But while millions deal with and have learned to live with snoring, it could have a significant impact on expectant mothers. Scientists have looked into how snoring can affect a woman during pregnancy, but a recent study showed that snoring can also affect an unborn child.

Snoring can sometimes be attributed to a sleep disorder known  as sleep apnea, which causes one to momentarily stop breathing while asleep. This can happen a few times a night or, in more severe cases, up to hundreds of times, causing the amount of oxygen in the blood to decrease. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to other health problems, and in pregnant women, can increase the risk of pre-eclampsia or high blood pressure.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see why doctors would be concerned about an infant’s health if its mother was snoring during pregnancy and had a sleep disorder. To find out just what these snoring risks were, the scientists who conducted the new study followed more than 1,600 mothers during their pregnancies; one-third of the pregnant women studied were regular snorers. Among the snorers, quite a number had cesarean deliveries; not only that, many were emergency C-sections. Another trend noticed among the mothers who snored was that their newborns weighed less than average. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but smaller infants have been found to be more prone to certain medical conditions.

Now that this new information has come to light, doctors can prepare accordingly. Screening expectant mothers for disorders such as sleep apnea is clearly essential. Checking breathing and oxygen levels are steps that can be taken early on in a woman’s pregnancy to find the cause of her snoring and perhaps even eliminate it. In the case of sleep apnea, there are treatments that can also help patients rest better and maintain proper oxygen levels, leading to better quality of life for mom and baby.

Are you kept awake by your partner's snoring? Get them to sing.

Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock:
Singing may not cure snoring or obstructive sleep apnea but increased muscle tone from singing may be somewhat helpful.

10:30am Friday 7th March 2014 in News

Rock choir helps reduce snoring

PEOPLE suffering from bad nights sleep or kept awake by their partner's snoring, should start singing.

According to research joining a Rock Choir group can help boost people's mental health and wellbeing, while reducing snoring.

Helen Just, leader of the Droitwich Spa, Great Malvern and Worcester Rock Choir, said a study carried out by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust found preliminary evidence that refutal singing exercises could benefit people who snore.

She said: "This prompted us to ask Rock Choir members whether they or their partners had noticed any improvements in their snoring since joining and over 10 per cent of respondents said yes.

"Singing helps to exercise and strengthen muscles in the soft palette, which is where the snoring vibration occurs."

She added that some of her members that were regularly singing with her said they felt happier, had increased their confidence and had even lost weight.

Ms. Just offers a free trial to all new members at the weekly sessions across the county.

There are no auditions and no requirements to read music or have any previous singing experience to join the contemporary choir and singers can expect to attend performances throughout the year.

For a free taster session or more information about times, go to rockchoir.com or call 01252 714276.

Snoring and Sleep

Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock:
Find out about the symptoms and solutions of snoring.  Learn how proper treatment and decision can help you on National Sleep Foundation.

Snoring is noisy breathing during sleep. It is a common problem among all ages and both genders, and it affects approximately 90 million American adults — 37 million on a regular basis. Snoring may occur nightly or intermittently. Persons most at risk are males and those who are overweight, but snoring is a problem of both genders, although it is possible that women do not present with this complaint as frequently as men. Snoring usually becomes more serious as people age. It can cause disruptions to your own sleep and your bed-partner's sleep. It can lead to fragmented and un-refreshing sleep which translates into poor daytime function (tiredness and sleepiness). The two most common adverse health effects that are believed to be casually linked to snoring are daytime dysfunction and heart disease . About one-half of people who snore loudly have obstructive sleep apnea .

While you sleep, the muscles of your throat relax, your tongue falls backward, and your throat becomes narrow and "floppy." As you breathe, the walls of the throat begin to vibrate - generally when you breathe in, but also, to a lesser extent, when you breathe out. These vibrations lead to the characteristic sound of snoring. The narrower your airway becomes, the greater the vibration and the louder your snoring. Sometimes the walls of the throat collapse completely so that it is completely occluded, creating a condition called apnea (cessation of breathing). This is a serious condition which requires medical attention.

There are several factors which facilitate snoring. First, the normal aging process leads to the relaxation of the throat muscles, thus resulting in snoring. Anatomical abnormalities of the nose and throat, such as enlarged tonsils or adenoids, nasal polyps, or deviated nasal septum cause exaggerated narrowing of the throat during sleep and thus lead to snoring. Functional abnormalities (e.g. inflammation of the nose and/or throat as may occur during respiratory infection or during allergy season) will result in snoring. Sleep position, such as sleeping on your back, may lead to snoring in some people. Alcohol is a potent muscle relaxant and its ingestion in the evening will cause snoring. Muscle relaxants taken in the evening may lead to or worsen snoring in some individuals. One of the most important risk factors is obesity, and in particular having a lot of fatty tissue around the neck.

SYMPTOMS:

People who snore make a vibrating, rattling, noisy sound while breathing during sleep. It may be a symptom of sleep apnea. Consult your doctor if you snore and have any of the following symptoms or signs:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Morning headaches
• Recent weight gain
• Awakening in the morning not feeling rested
• Awaking at night feeling confused
• Change in your level of attention, concentration, or memory
• Observed pauses in breathing during sleep

TREATMENT:

Snorers are generally unaware of their snoring, and must rely on the observations of their bed-partners. Some snorers may wake up at night choking and gasping for breath, but this occurs relatively infrequently. If you have been told that your snoring is disturbing to others, or you have some of the symptoms and signs listed above, consult your doctor. He or she will take your history, perform a physical exam and will determine whether you require a consultation with a sleep specialist and a sleep test to determine if you have sleep apnea and to see how your snoring affects your sleep quality.

Depending on the results of the sleep study, you will be presented with a series of options to treat snoring. These will generally include:

1. lifestyle modification (i.e. avoidance of risk factors mentioned above, sleep position training if applicable, treatment of allergies if applicable, etc…);
2. surgery (generally on the back of the throat and roof of the mouth, or the nose if applicable, using a variety of instruments including scalpel, laser, or microwaves);
3. appliances (mainly oral appliances constructed by a dentist experienced in treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, but also other appliances such as nasal dilators); 
4. and sometimes CPAP (a continuous positive airway pressure appliance which blows room air into the back of the throat thus preventing it from collapse).

The latter method is the treatment of choice for sleep apnea. If you are diagnosed with this condition, it is imperative that you pursue treatment aggressively; untreated sleep apnea will lead to daytime dysfunction and puts you at a higher risk for vascular disease.

Your own doctor, or sleep specialist, will talk to you in detail about each of the above treatment approaches, their chances of success, possible complications, and costs. They will be able to advise you which of the above treatment approaches is the correct one for you.

COPING:

People who suffer mild or occasional snoring, who wake up feeling refreshed, and function well during the day may first try the following behavioral remedies, before consulting their doctor:

• Lose weight
• Avoid tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antihistamines before bedtime
• Avoid alcohol for at least four hours and heavy meals or snacks for three hours before retiring
• Establish regular sleeping patterns
• Sleep on your side rather than your back

POLL DATA:

The National Sleep Foundation's 2002 Sleep in America Poll revealed that 37% of adults report they had snored at least a few nights a week during the previous year. In fact, 27% said that they snore every night or almost every night. Males were more likely than females to report snoring at least a few nights a week (42% vs. 31%).

NSF's 2003 poll, which focused on older adults between the ages of 55-84, reveals that about one-third of older adults overall (32%) report they had snored at least a few nights a week in the past year, with about four in ten 55-64 year olds (41%) most likely to have said they snore compared to about one-fourth of 65-74 year olds (28%) and 75-84 year olds (22%). Men were significantly more likely than women to report snoring at least a few nights a week (40% vs. 26%).

Reviewed by Victor Hoffstein, M.D.