Screen / Test Your Child / Teen for Major Pediatric Sleep Disorders:

Bed-Wetting

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Insomnia

Narcolepsy

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder

Restless Legs Syndrome

Sleep Talking

Sleep Terrors / Night Terrors / Nightmares

Sleep Walking

Snoring

Teeth Grinding

Sleep Apnea
Sleep Disorders - Keyword Definitions
L-Dopa
Levodopa is primarily used to increase dopamine levels for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) in some instances. Once levodopa has entered the central nervous system (CNS), it is metabolised to dopamine, and it decreases the shakiness in Parkinson’s or the leg and arm movements during sleep of the person with PLMD. Potential side effects of L-Dopa can be:
· Nausea, which is often helped by taking the drug with food.
· Vivid dreams and/or fragmented sleep.
· Effects on learning. There is some evidence that it improves working memory, while impairing other complex functions.
· Sleepiness and sleep attacks.
Because of these side effects, Neurontin is the drug of choice to treat PLMD.
Leg Movement Disorder(s)
There are two leg movement disorders known as Periodic Limb Movement Disorder(PLMD) and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). PLMD occurs during sleep, so most people are unaware of these movements. RLS on the other hand occurs before we fall asleep, when we are at rest. Individuals with RLS are fully aware of their leg movements because they are moving their legs constantly while awake to stop the uncomfortable sensations which accompany restless legs. RLS keeps people from falling asleep, while PLMD disrupts sleep and prevents one from getting deep refreshing sleep. One can have PLMD without having RLS. However, individuals with RLS almost always have PLMD because they move their legs during sleep to make the aching, creepy leg sensations stop. Children have trouble describing these irritating sensations to their parents, and may tell their parents they have “spiders or coca cola bubbles running through their legs.” Research now suggests that anywhere from 25-60% of all children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have treatable RLS or PLMD, and once the RLS/PLMD is corrected with Neurontin or therapy far a low Serum Ferritin level (chemical found in iron that can cause RLS or PLMD if it gets too low), the ADHD symptoms improve significantly or disappear! This is a new and exciting medical discovery that could reduce the incidence rate of ADHD significantly if all pediatricians would automatically run a simple blood test on any child with ADHD to test their Serum Ferritin level and five them additional iron treatments or vitamins with extra iron supplements if the serum ferritin level is low. Parents can also try feeding their child more foods high in iron like raisons, spinach, egg yokes, liver, and leeks pureed in soups. Parents must emphasize to the pediatrician that their child’s serum ferritin level is tested, NOT the iron level because a child can be low in serum ferritin and have a normal iron level.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) increases with age and approximately 34% of patients over 60 have PLMD. There are various medications available which can be used to treat PLMD.
Levels of Sleep (See also Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM))
During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. These stages progress in a cycle from stage 1 of NON-REM sleep to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1. We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in stage 2 sleep, about 20 percent in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, and the remaining 30 percent in the other stages. Infants spend about half of their sleep time in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. During stage 1, which is light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep, are somewhat aware of talking or movements in the bedroom, and can be awakened easily. Our eye movements and muscle activity slow. When we enter stage 2 sleep, eye movements stop and brain waves become slower. In stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. By stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust immediately and are groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up. Some children experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking during deep sleep or when switching from deep sleep to REM sleep. New research findings suggest that children who do not get enough deep stages 3 and 4-sleep are often irritable and more oppositional during the daytime.
Level 4 of NREM Sleep
See Levels of Sleep and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM)
 
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