Though it has been known for a considerable time now that children with sleep apnea frequently turn in poor scores on IQ tests (normally scoring about 85 against a score of 101 without sleep apnea) what we have not known until recently is that this results from chemical changes taking place within the brain. What this means is that an otherwise ‘smart’ kid might well turn in a middle of the road performance as a result of nothing more than a sleep disorder that can be fairly easily treated in most instances.
In a study conducted at the Hopkin’s Children’s Centre in Baltimore 31 children between the ages of 6 and 16 (19 of whom suffered from severe sleep apnea) were examined under a form or magnetic resonance imaging and found that the children who were suffering from sleep apnea displayed considerable changes in both the right frontal cortex and hippocampus – two parts of the human brain associated with learning and higher mental function. The same study also found that these children had unusual levels of three chemicals within the brain which is an indicator of brain damage.
This alteration of the chemistry of the brain stemming from sleep apnea may or may not be permanent and further studies are needed to see whether or not this affect can be reversed. Nonetheless, even if this difficulty can be reversed and the chemistry of the brain and cognitive function can be normalized, children who are suffering from sleep apnea will display a loss in learning as long as they are suffering from sleep apnea that is left untreated and will be unable to turn back the clock and recover this period of learning.
Parents should obviously already be watching for indications of sleep apnea in their children but this study indicates that an early treatment of this sleep disorder could have a very important affect on your child’s success in life.
The symptoms of sleep apnea could include frequent pauses in breathing during sleep that frequently produce an arousal from sleep as well as tossing and turning. A child might also show labored and loud breathing, coughing, snoring, gasping and, at times, bedwetting at a time when this period in development ought normally to have passed. Parents could additionally note that a child is sleeping in a strange position, perhaps with their bottom in the air and their head tilted back in an unconscious effort to force their airway open.
In most instances child sleep apnea may be treated by the surgical removal of the adenoids and tonsils or of excess tissue from the rear of the throat or from the nose. Additionally, a CPAP (continuous positive airways pressure) machine may also be used to provide a child with a flow of air which is delivered through a mask worn during sleep to maintain an open airway.
In itself sleep apnea is debilitating for any child and the affects of a lengthy period of restless sleep will take a toll on your child. However, when this is combined with a reduction in a child’s IQ, it becomes extremely important that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to see that this condition is diagnosed and then treated.