New York Pediatrician Advises Sound Sleep As a Vital Component of Child Health

July 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Raising healthy children requires that parents pay careful attention to myriad issues. These include making sure that their child eats nutritious food, exercises regularly, wears safety equipment when playing sports and riding bikes, and that parents respond promptly when illness or injury occurs. An often overlooked but very important aspect of overall child health involves getting a good night’s sleep. When sleep is interrupted or deprived it can have serious repercussions on a child’s health.

Whether your child is an infant, toddler, pre-teen or teenager, proper sleep is a crucial element in maintaining overall health, explains Nadav Traeger, MD, Director of Pediatric Sleep Medicine at Children’s and Women’s Physicians of Westchester (CWPW). Sleep disorders come in varying forms that can adversely affect a child’s health, Dr. Traeger says. “We get a couple of hundred referrals a year,” he states regarding the Sleep Disorder Center located at Maria Fereri Children’s Hospital. “While most come for evaluation of sleep apnea and other sleep-related breathing issues, other children are brought for evaluation of trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.”

In younger children, behavioral sleep disorders are relatively common, Dr. Traeger says, and minor modification of a child’s sleep habits or daily schedule can usually resolve the issue. However, Dr. Traeger adds, the issue of sleep — or lack thereof — becomes problematic when it has a noticeable impact on a child’s ability to function normally during the day, is disruptive to other family members’ sleep, and when parents can’t resolve this by taking the usual steps to eradicate the problem. Examples of this include having a regular bedtime routine, and avoiding caffeine and late-day naps.

There are measures that can be taken to help children to sleep better, and get them to the point where they enjoy restful sleep every night. Once the problem is defined and diagnosed, treatment is recommended. “This nearly always consists of lifestyle modifications, but on occasion medication may be indicated,” Dr. Traeger says.

Dr. Traeger says there are three principal reasons to seek medical evaluation for sleep disorders. The first, insomnia (trouble falling asleep or staying asleep), can leave a child sleepy and unfocused during the day and generally affect daytime performance in school, with sports, and elsewhere. Next, hypersomnia, in which a child is too sleepy throughout the day despite getting a seemingly sufficient amount of sleep at night, needs to be investigated as well. Finally, obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where breathing is disrupted during sleep, absolutely needs to be investigated. “It’s important to make sure that a child’s breathing is all right,” Dr. Traeger says. “Snoring during sleep should be investigated in a timely fashion.”

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About Children's & Women's Physicians of Westchester, LLP
Children's & Women's Physicians of Westchester is one of the largest medical practices in the nation comprised of dedicated doctors and health professionals committed to providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care to women, infants, children and adolescents. The medical practice is located throughout the greater New York Metropolitan area, extending from New York City, throughout the Hudson Valley, including Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam and Orange Counties as well as in Southern Connecticut. For information on our medical specialties and office locations visit our website at www.cwpw.org.