Struggling to stay awake during the day can interfere with your child's learning and growth by making it difficult for her to focus on her schoolwork or to participate in her regular activities. The sleepiness can sap her energy levels, leaving her lethargic and unmotivated. In some children, it can even cause hyperactivity and emotional problems. Since interrupted nighttime sleep can lead to daytime drowsiness, it is important to find out what might be interfering with your child's regular sleep patterns.
Significance
A child who falls asleep anywhere or anytime during the daytime --- from his classroom to a birthday party --- may have a condition known as Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, or Sleepy Child Syndrome. According to Dr. Stephen Sheldon, director of the Sleep Medicine Center at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, this disorder --- most common in children between the ages of 6 to 10 --- can interfere with a child's ability to function normally. Sheldon notes that many doctors mistakenly diagnose children experiencing sleep disorders with behavioral disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, since the lack of sleep can cause children to become inattentive or unfocused.
Causes
Excessive daytime sleepiness can result from different sleep disorders, including bedwetting, obstructive sleep apnea, night terrors, sleepwalking, narcolepsy and environmental disturbances. These sleep problems will eventually cause your child to become drowsy and over-tired during the day. In order to "cure" daytime drowsiness, you need to find and treat the underlying sleep problems causing the condition.
Solution
You can take steps at home to help determine the causes of your child's excessive sleepiness. Keep a journal of your child's sleep patterns --- taking note of the times when sleep occurs, the duration of sleep, and location or situation in which the sleep takes place. Bring the journal with you to your child's doctor. The doctor can evaluate your child's sleep patterns to determine whether your child is suffering from a sleep disorder that warrants a professional sleep evaluation. If the doctor decides that sleep issues may be causing your child's problems, he may refer you to a sleep disorder clinic for an evaluation.
Misconceptions
Although your child's erratic sleep patterns may lead you to suspect narcolepsy --- a condition characterized by constant sleepiness and falling asleep in unusual times or places --- the Cleveland Clinic states that doctors rarely diagnose this condition in children under the age of 15. Along with the sleepiness, narcoleptic children may also exhibit sleep paralysis, in which they temporarily lose motor control, and vivid hallucinations. Although there is no cure for this rare medical condition, medications and behavior modifications can make it easier for children to cope with narcolepsy.
Warning
Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition that can disrupt your child's sleep and cause daytime drowsiness. Children who experience obstructive sleep apnea stop breathing for short amounts of time when they sleep, which can decrease their oxygen levels and lead to restless sleep. The most common cause of these apneas in children involves the obstruction of an airway, usually by enlarged tonsils or adenoids. KidsHealth notes that the condition, while serious, is normally not life-threatening. Doctors can treat the condition using surgery, monitoring methods or medications.
