Asthma and sleep apnea are very common problems that are associated with childhood obesity. Obesity may lead to many diseases in a child which includes hear problems, lung problems, type 2 diabetes, Asthma, sleep apnea and social discrimination. Some recent studies have identified the association between obesity and asthma/sleep apnea.
Asthma and sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is characterized by the brief but numerous involuntary breathing pauses during a sleep. These breathing pauses create awakening of the patient throughout the night. These will make the sleep apnea patients inability to get a good night sleep. Issues of overweight or obese are the risk factors for sleep apnea problems. This sleep apnea problem is not only affecting adults but also youngsters nowadays. Since the percentage of obesity among children is increasing, the sleep apnea problem also continues to increase.
The symptoms of sleep apnea in the night includes snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, restless sleep, breathing through mouth, difficulty in waking up in the morning etc . Daytime sleep apnea symptoms include inattentiveness, hyperactivity, sleepiness and behavioral issues.
How to stop asthma and sleep apnea in your child.
Maintaining a normal body weight will give some relief to the sleep apnea problem. To maintain an ideal body weight, suggestions are given, which includes:
- Parents should be supportive for the child. Every child who is obese knows that they are obese and so it need not be reminded all the time.
- All the family activities should be planned to involve exercise program in it. Activities like swimming; walking, running, car washing, hiking etc should be included in family activities program.
- Eating in front of the TV will make the kids eat more than they need for their body. Also encouraging the kids to eat slowly by proper chewing will help them in the digestion of food.
- Parent should never use the food as a reward or punishment. Children need food for growth and overall development, so they should never be placed in restrictive diets.
- Parents can help their child to get a good night sleep if they follow certain steps.
- A regular bedtime and wake up time should be maintained. The daily sleep requirements should be scheduled by the parents and children earlier before every week. The amount of sleep that is required for a particular age group is given below:
o 8months to 3 years required 12 to 14 hours of sleep/night
o 3 to 5 years may required 11 to 13 hours of sleep/night
o 5 to 12 years may require 10 to 11 hours of sleep/night
o Kids in teenage requires 9.25 hours of sleep/night
- A bedtime routine should be encouraged for children of all age group who suffers from sleep apnea problems. Avoid watching TV, exercise, phones, computers etc at least 15 to 30 minutes before sleep.
- Activities that require priorities should be identified and scheduled properly. Overload schedules may bring out stress in individual, which in turn contributes to poor health and sleeping disorders.
If a child suffers from obesity, asthma and sleep apnea problems, then it is better to discuss it with a pediatrician and treat accordingly. You child’s health is upon your hands.