Children as they are growing needs more sleep than any other age group. It is because they need all the nutrients they can get as they sleep so they will grow stronger and taller. Studies have proven that sleep helps growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems.
However, like adults, children also experience sleeping disorders. And they also have brief pauses in their breathing pattern called apnea. According to study, these brief stops are completely normal. But apnea can cause a prolonged pause in breathing which is why we have breathing pattern irregularities. Especially for someone with apnea, they stop breathing for a short amount of time, decreasing oxygen levels in the body and disrupting sleep.
It is normal for humans to have or even experience occasional breathing pauses but apnea can be a problem when breathing stops for 20 seconds or longer. Lack of oxygen can lead to brain cell damage and lowered intelligence according to many studies.
From a lifestyle website, one study conducted showed that among 31 children between the ages of 6 and 16 on which 19 of whim had severe sleep apnea were examined using a special form or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and it was found that those children with sleep apnea showed significant changes in both the hippocampus and right frontal cortex - two areas of the brain associated with learning and higher mental function.
Based on the studies conducted in children, as the major parts of their brains are still developing rapidly, these decrease of oxygen levels will result to injury in their brain parts that are responsible for memory, learning and complex thought.
It has also been seen that sleep apnea can also lead to serious physical problems. How? As sleep apnea happens in children, disturbance in the secretion of growth hormones occur during sleep. With this, children with sleep apnea may not grow as quickly as they should for their age or exhibit stunted physical growth and not reach their full length.
Effects of sleep apnea to children can become really serious to their development as they grow. So it is really best that parents guide their children in solving this issue. Like adults, children also have available apnea chin straps sold in the market so their mouths and jaws will be closed and will be forced to breathe properly using the nose.
There are a lot of people who already can testify the effectiveness of apnea chin straps. And children too have all the rights to be treated with their breathing disorder. Get them one and avoid the bad results of this.