Pediatric Insomnia
Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep during the night.
What is Pediatric Insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that causes problems falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up too early in the morning. Sleep is crucial to childhood development, and insomnia can lead to health problems or behavioral issues.
Insomnia can be short-term, lasting a few days or weeks, and may be related to medication, anxiety from a stressful event or illness. However, it can also be a long-term condition that will impact the child for their entire life.
Insomnia can be chronic (ongoing and occurs three times a week for a month or longer), cyclical (problems balancing wake-and-sleep cycles that can come and go throughout life) or transient (typically lasts less than three weeks).
While it is more common in adults, children can develop chronic insomnia, including 10% of adolescents (age 10 to 19).
What are the different types of Pediatric Insomnia?
There are two main types of insomnia:
Primary insomnia
The insomnia is not related to another condition. This is sometimes referred to as psychophysiological insomnia. It often involves poor sleep habits, going to bed and waking up at different times, and negative thoughts or anxiety about falling asleep.
Secondary insomnia
The insomnia is a symptom of a larger problem and is caused by a medical condition or is related to behavioral health issues.
Patterns of insomnia
Within the types of insomnia, children will typically experience three patterns of insomnia that impact their nighttime sleep.
Onset – Children have a difficult time falling asleep. This is typically defined as taking longer than 30 minutes.
Middle – Children will wake up in the middle of the night or are unable to sleep long periods of time.
Terminal – Children will wake up too early in the morning.
What are the signs and symptoms of Pediatric Insomnia?
Behavioral health issues like depression or problems concentrating (may resemble ADHD)
Difficulty falling back asleep once awake
Excessive drowsiness or grogginess during the day
Resisting going to sleep or worrying about nighttime
Trouble falling asleep
Waking up during the night
Waking up early (while it's still dark out)
What are the causes of Pediatric Insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by several factors, including:
Behavioral health issues like bipolar disorder or depression
Caffeine or other stimulants
Environmental factors (extreme temperatures, light and loud noises)
Medical conditions like allergies, asthma, eczema, fibromyalgia, GERD, growing pains or thyroid disease
Medications like corticosteroids and those that treat attention deficit disorder (ADHD), depression and convulsions
Neurodevelopment disorders like Asperger’s syndrome or autism and mental disabilities
Sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and restless legs syndrome (RLS)
Stress
Pediatric Insomnia Doctors and Providers
