Sleep Matters: Get the answers to common sleep conditions

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Clear bedtime rules need to be set with your child (e.g. staying in bed, not calling out for parents), and ignore complaints about bedtime (e.g. ’I am not tired’). Check on your child very briefly if needed, to provide reassurance and also to reinforce limits, and return your child to bed immediately if he gets out. You may also expect a transient worsening of behaviour in some children at the beginning of trying to set limits, before any significant improvement. All caregivers must be consistent and firm in their manner.

the child does not remember the event the next morning. They are thought to be associated with an immature neurological system, and tend to occur more frequently during episodes of acute illness and/or fever, stress, or in association with any disorder that disrupts sleep (e.g. obstructive sleep apnoea, medical conditions disrupting sleep). This section will focus on the parasomnias with more dramatic presentations – confusional arousal, sleep terror and sleepwalking. 1. Confusional Arousals

You may also consider positive reinforcement (e.g. sticker charts and small rewards) to help motivate your child.

Parasomnias In Children Parasomnias are unpleasant or undesirable events that intrude into sleep. The common parasomnias in children are nightmare disorder, confusional arousal, sleep terror, sleeptalking and sleepwalking. With the exception of nightmare disorder, these parasomnias usually occur within the first three hours after sleep onset and

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Confusional arousal consists of confused behaviour during and following arousals from sleep (typically from a sleep stage known as slow wave sleep in the first third of the night), and also upon attempted awakening from sleep in the morning. How common is it? Confusional arousal is present in 5 percent to 15 percent of children and is usually benign in nature. It usually starts before five years of age and peaks in frequency during mid-childhood before spontaneous remission. There is usually


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