Though we have known for quite some time now that children who are suffering from sleep apnea frequently turn in poor scores on IQ tests (normally scoring about 85 against a score of 101 for children without sleep apnea) what has not been known until very recently is that these lower scores result from chemical changes taking place within the brain. What this means is that a naturally 'clever' kid could well produce an average performance because of a sleep disorder that can be fairly easily treated in most cases.
In a study that was conducted at the Hopkin's Children's Centre 31 children between the ages of 6 and 16 (19 of whom were suffering from severe sleep apnea) were examined under a form or magnetic resonance imaging and found that those children who were suffering from sleep apnea displayed important changes in both the right frontal cortex and hippocampus - two areas of the human brain that are associated with learning and higher mental function. This study also discovered that these children had abnormal levels of three specific chemicals within the brain that is a sign of brain damage.
This change in the brain chemistry resulting from the presence of sleep apnea might or might not be lasting and additional studies will be necessary to see whether this affect can be reversed. But, even if this problem can be reversed and the cognitive function and chemistry of the brain can be returned to normal, children who are suffering from sleep apnea are going to continue to display a loss in learning as long as they are suffering from untreated sleep apnea and they will not be able to turn back the clock and recover this period of learning.
Of course parents should already be watching for indications of sleep apnea in their children but this latest study indicates that an early treatment of this sleep disorder could well have a very important affect on your child's prospects.
The symptoms of sleep apnea may include numerous pauses in breathing during sleep that frequently cause an arousal from sleep and both tossing and turning in bed. A child could also display labored and loud breathing, snoring, coughing, gasping and, occasionally, bedwetting at an age when this period in development should normally have passed. Parents might additionally note that a child is sleeping in a strange position, possibly with their bottom in the air and their head tilted backwards in an unwitting attempt to force open their airway.
In the majority of cases sleep apnea in children can be treated by surgically removing both the tonsils and adenoids or of excess tissue from the back of the throat or from the nose. Additionally, a continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine can also be recommended to provide a child with a flow of air that is delivered through a mask worn while sleeping to maintain an open airway.
In itself sleep apnea is detrimental to any child and the affects of a lengthy period of poor quality sleep will take its toll on your child. But, when you mix this with an impairment of a child's IQ, it becomes crucial that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to have this problem diagnosed and treated.
Author Resource:-
Help-Me-To-Sleep.com provides extensive information and advice on a whole range of sleep disorders including sleep apnia and sleep apnea children
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