If your son or daughter has asthma, you may have detected that they are not sleeping as they should. And as the Spanish Society of Clinical Immunology, Allergology and Pediatric Asthma (Seicap) points out, “sleep disturbances and childhood asthma have a clear association since asthmatic children usually suffer a worsening of lung function during rest.”
In general, Seicap explains that if the child has asthma, it is most likely that they will have “more problems falling asleep, it is of poor quality and they suffer from drowsiness and daytime fatigue.” At bedtime, the symptoms associated with asthma, such as cough, wheezing or wheezing, and difficulty breathing, become more acute during the night and cause the child to wake up more frequently.
Asthma is one of the important risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). The disease causes chronic inflammation of the bronchi and it is during rest that it increases, which worsens the child’s breathing and causes them to suffer these frequent pauses in breathing, due to snoring.
Sleep apnea is one of the most dangerous derived problems, since if it is not diagnosed it can have serious consequences for your health. Asthma can become more complicated and acute during the night and day. The scientific organization warns that parents should pay attention when “sleep problems become more intense and persistent in asthmatic children, especially if it is observed that the child is too irritable and hyperactive during the day.”
Tips to improve sleep quality
These are the tips and recommendations from Seicap that you can adopt to improve the quality of sleep of asthmatic children:
1. Prepare the child’s bedroom. To improve their sleep, they advise ventilating the room daily for just enough time to renew the air and, at the same time, prevent pollens, pollutants and other allergens from entering that can cause respiratory symptoms in children. Any impediment to your rest must be removed. Make sure the light is very light, there is no noise and the temperature is low.
2. Strictly comply with maintenance treatment. To alleviate the symptoms during sleep, it is important that parents keep good control of the illness of the child or adolescent with asthma.
3. Maintain routines before going to bed. The moments before going to sleep are crucial, so it is advisable for the child to follow the same routine every day before going to bed. For example, reading a book, always going to sleep at the same time, or not exercising late in the afternoon.
4. Get them away from screens. They recommend that the use of electronic devices be reduced during the previous hours, especially in the case of adolescents who are more dependent. The light from screens when you are in bed can stimulate brain activity and thus make it difficult to fall asleep. The organization proposes that some other activity be carried out as a family, that is quiet and that prevents them from using their cell phone or tablet before going to sleep.
– Make light dinners. Food is also important and, therefore, opt for dinners that are not heavy and copious to facilitate digestion and a good rest during the night.
– See a doctor if the problem persists. If, despite following good habits, the situation continues, you should consult with your pediatrician so that he or she can evaluate the different solutions.
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