World Sleep Day | Are children who always snore really sleeping well?

Author: Qin Xueyan Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University (Shanghai Tongji Hospital)

Reviewer: Tang Jinqing, Associate Chief Physician, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University (Shanghai Tongji Hospital)

March 21, 2024 is the 24th World Sleep Day. The theme of this year's World Sleep Day is "Healthy Sleep for Everyone".

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Some children hold their breath and have respiratory arrest when they fall asleep; some children grind their teeth and talk in their sleep; some children cannot sleep well at night, often doze off during the day, cannot concentrate in class, have poor memory, and their academic performance has also declined; some parents have found that their children who always snore are getting uglier and uglier, with buck teeth and upturned lips. Parents need to be vigilant, because children who always snore when they sleep are not really sleeping well, and it may be related to certain diseases.

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1. Will a child who snores all the time when sleeping become ugly?

"Children who snore frequently will become ugly" does have some scientific basis. Frequent snoring may cause abnormal development of the facial bones. Due to long-term mouth breathing, children may have elongated maxilla, high arched palate, uneven teeth, protruding upper incisors, thick lips, upturned upper lip, narrow anterior nares, lack of facial expression, dull face, etc. Many times, the first person to discover the problem is often the dentist. Some children go to the doctor for orthodontic treatment, only to be told that the tooth problem is actually related to snoring.

2. What impact does snoring during sleep have on children’s growth, development and physical health?

If children snore or hold their breath for a long time while sleeping, their brains will often be in a state of hypoxia, which will not only lead to poor intellectual development of children, but may also affect other aspects of the body and even the heart. Hypoxia will also lead to increased glomerular filtration, increased nocturia, and may affect the urination nerve reflex arc, resulting in enuresis in children. If a child develops sleep breathing disorders, the negative pressure in the chest will increase, which may also cause mild chest deformities.

Therefore, the quality of children's sleep directly affects their growth and development, learning and memory, psychological behavior and other aspects.

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3. What intervention measures or treatments are there for children who snore while sleeping?

(1) Basic intervention. The child's sleeping position can be changed, such as sleeping on the side as much as possible. Obese children can control their weight appropriately. These basic interventions can alleviate snoring with relatively mild symptoms.

(2) Treatment of the cause. Secondary snoring can usually be cured after the cause is removed. For example, if a child has nasal congestion due to upper respiratory tract infection, rhinitis or other diseases, which causes snoring during sleep, he or she can take oral medication or adopt other treatment options under the guidance of a doctor. When the symptoms of the primary disease are relieved, the snoring symptoms will disappear.

(3) Targeted treatment. If the snoring child has hypertrophic nasal conchae, stenotic nasal passages, or hypertrophic tonsils, positive airway pressure and oral appliances can be used to relieve airway obstruction, increase airway patency, and reduce sleep interruptions and snoring during sleep.

(4) Surgical treatment. If the child's snoring is caused by severe airway obstruction, and the location of the airway obstruction is clear, such as severe tonsil hypertrophy or throat tumors, surgical treatment can be chosen.

There are many ways to relieve children's snoring. First, the cause should be identified, and then the appropriate treatment method should be chosen based on the specific cause and the child's specific situation.