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In the clinic, children are seen with a variety of sleep problems. The most common are:
Sleeplessness: bedtime problems, poor napping, and nighttime wakings
Parasomnias: "confusional arousals" (periods of incomplete waking with crying, screaming and thrashing), bedwetting, sleepwalking, sleep terrors
Sleep schedule abnormalities: problems that affect the timing and quality of sleep across the night and day, thereby affecting both the ability to sleep properly at sleep times and to function normally when awake
Excessive sleepiness: trouble waking, excessive sleep, daytime sleepiness, and narcolepsy
Sleep-associated breathing difficulties (snoring and sleep apnea): noisy breathing, difficulty breathing, abnormal breathing during sleep
At the sleep clinic, a specialist in pediatric sleep disorders medicine will meet with the family to take a detailed history of the child's problem and perform a physical examination. For certain problems (such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy) additional laboratory procedures (including sleep studies) may be required. In most situations behavioral interventions and schedule changes are used to help normalize sleep and sleep patterns. For sleep apnea, treatment may include surgery (for example, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy), weight loss, or nocturnal respiratory support ("CPAP"). For narcolepsy, medication is required.
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