There is an important link between quality of sleep and behavioral problems in children and a common indicator of low sleep quality in children is loud snoring. For many kids, especially three- to six-year-olds, loud snoring is caused by enlarged tonsils or adenoids and removing the tissue can improve their ability to breathe at night and thus greatly improves their sleep quality and behavior.
Children who are chronic snorers are considered to be at least 33% at risk of a behavioral disorder one way that snoring affects behavior is that it generally causes poor sleep quality, which could make kids tired and more irritable.
What are tonsils and adenoids?
Tonsils and adenoids are important players in the immune system. They sample bacteria and viruses that enter the body through the mouth or nose, but sometimes they become infected. For some people, infected tonsils and adenoids may become significantly enlarged leading to airway obstruction and/or breathing, swallowing, sleep problems, or repeated bacterial infections.
Tonsils and adenoids are important players in the immune system. They sample bacteria and viruses that enter the body through the mouth or nose, but sometimes they become infected. For some people, infected tonsils and adenoids may become significantly enlarged leading to airway obstruction and/or breathing, swallowing, sleep problems, or repeated bacterial infections.
Symptoms
Besides difficulty breathing, other signs of adenoid and or tonsil enlargement are:
- Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose most of the time
- Nose sounds blocked when the person speaks
- Chronic runny nose
- Noisy breathing during the day
- Recurrent ear infections
- Snoring at night
- Restlessness during sleep, pauses in breathing for a few seconds at night (may indicate sleep apnea).
Infected tonsils and adenoids are commonly treated with antibiotics; however, your ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist may suggest removing them completely if they are affecting your sleep. A sleep study, or polysomnogram, is used to determine whether sleep disturbance is occurring because of large tonsils and adenoids.
Besides snoring, chronic infections of the adenoids can affect other areas such as the eustachian tube, the passage between the back of the nose and the inside of the ear. This can lead to frequent ear infections and buildup of fluid in the middle ear that may cause temporary hearing loss. Studies also find that removal of the adenoids may help some children with chronic earaches accompanied by fluid in the middle ear (otitis media with effusion).
Poor sleep has been proven to increase possibility of behavior disorders such as ADHD and hyperactivity, it also increases irritability and poor attention, as well as decreases focus needed for cognitive learning.
Sleep is an important part of a persons well-being at any age. Since children are especially vulnerable to suffer from sleep disturbances, we need to pay attention to red flags such as snoring in order to ensure their well-being.