Sleep Apnea In Children May Cause Noticeably Lower Iq Scores

By Author: Donald Saunders
Total Articles: 84
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Although it has been known for some time now that children who are suffering from sleep apnea usually turn in poor scores on IQ tests (usually scoring about 85 as opposed to a score of 101 without sleep apnea) what we have not known until very recently is that these reduced scores result from chemical changes in the brain. What this means is that a naturally 'clever' kid could well produce a run of the mill performance because of nothing more than a sleep disorder which can be quite easily treated in most cases.

In a recent study which was conducted at the Hopkin's Children's Centre a total of 31 children aged between 6 and 16 (19 of whom were suffering from severe sleep apnea) were examined using a special form or magnetic resonance imaging and found that the children with sleep apnea demonstrated significant alterations in both the right frontal cortex and hippocampus - two sections of the human brain which are linked with learning and higher mental function. This study also discovered that these children had altered levels of three specific chemicals in the brain that is an indication of brain damage.

This alteration ...
... of the chemistry of the brain resulting from the presence of sleep apnea might or might not be permanent and further studies are needed to see whether this affect is reversible. But, even if this problem can be reversed and the cognitive function and brain chemistry can be returned to normal, children who suffer from sleep apnea are going to continue to show a loss in learning as long as they are suffering from sleep apnea which is not treated and will not be able to turn back the clock and recover this learning time.

Parents should of course already be looking for signs of sleep apnea in their children however this study clearly shows that an early diagnosis of this sleep disorder could well have a very important affect on a child's prospects.

The signs of sleep apnea may include frequent pauses in breathing during sleep which often cause an arousal from sleep as well as both tossing and turning in bed. Children could also show labored and loud breathing, snoring, coughing, gasping and, now and again, bedwetting at an age when this period in development ought normally to have passed. Parents may also notice a child sleeping in an odd position, perhaps with their bottom in the air and their head slanted back in an unwitting attempt to force open their airway.

In most cases child sleep apnea may be treated by the surgical removal of both the adenoids and tonsils or excess tissue from the back of the throat or from the nose. Additionally, a continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine can also be used to provide the child with air that is delivered through a mask worn while sleeping to keep the airway open.

Sleep apnea is in itself debilitating for any child and the affects of night after night of restless sleep will take a toll on your child's health. But, when you combine this with a reduction in your child's IQ, it is very important that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to see that this problem is diagnosed and then treated.