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American Morning

Kids & Sleep Problems

Aired May 05, 2003 - 08:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's page Dr. Gupta about another common problem facing parents, kids who just can't sleep. Sanjay is it at CNN Center here now with a look at how pediatricians are treating kids who are plagued by sleepless nights, and one of our guys here on the floor said, hey, sleepless kids mean sleepless parents, right.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and that's what the big concern is no question, and you of course have a 2-year- old who sleeps 11 hours, you tell me, but most...

COLLINS: He's an angel.

GUPTA: He's an angel, yes.

COLLINS: But sleepless kids do make for sleepless parents, and that is a huge concern. There's been a lot of research now looking actually at what happens to kids who don't sleep. What they find is that 75 percent of the time, doctors will actually prescribe or recommend over the counter medications and 50 percent of the time prescribe prescription medications for them. That is a little bit of a concern, because there are no FDA approved medication to treat sleeplessness in children.

Let's take a look at the most common sorts of sleep ailments, again, parents knowing more about this, of young children, than anybody else there. Again, the most common types of sleep problems, insomnia, bedtime struggles, delayed sleep phase, night walking, sleep terrors or restless legs.

Now those are the most common problems. Again, those are the reasons that a lot of these kids are getting medicated. Kids get medicating. There are medications for kids for all sorts of things, insomnia being on the list, but also take a look at the list of some of the other things that kids most commonly get medicated for, acute pain, travel. When they go do traveling, a lot of parents will medicate their kids. Development delay, ADHD, autism, mood or anxiety disorders, acute stress, and then of course insomnia as well making the list.

But again, Heidi, this is a bit of a concern, while it may be a quick respite for the parents to go ahead and give the medication for sleeplessness, it's not usually the best answer. There are some recommendations that the Pediatric Society gave us as well, really revolving around a bedtime schedule. They think this sort of behavioral therapy the best option. Take a look at their recommendation, following a set schedule, also using a pre-calming period, either reading to the child or a warm bath, something like that that is routine every single night, a better option they say than medications -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That's right. It just really brings up the point, you know, do I have to drug my child for everything? I think of Ritalin, like you had up there for ADHD, don't really want to use drugs for any of this, so obviously, you've really got to watch the sleep patterns.

Also, let me ask you, Sanjay, how do you know that your child has a sleep problem?

GUPTA: Well, that's an interesting question. Obviously, a lot of children, except for yours, do have sleep problems.

COLLINS: I sound like Kathie Lee.

GUPTA: There are some actual questions you can yourself to try and figure out whether your child has a sleep problem. There is a mnemonic there the NIH actually came up with called BEARS. We can take a look at that. The 'B' really standing for bedtime. Does my children having problems going to bed or falling asleep. A lot of times, this can just be a separation issue as well. A lot of times, kids who have separation issues want the drink of water, they want to go to the bathroom as opposed to going to bed for that reason.

The 'E' stands for excessive daytime sleepiness. Do they seem overtired during the day. Again, an obvious reflection of nighttime sleeping problems if they're sleepy during the day.

Awakening, how many times does your child awaken at night? The frequency of that can also be a determination.

'R' is regulation and duration of sleep. Does my child go to sleep and wake up at the same time? How much sleep is he or she getting?

And finally, 'S,' snoring. Snoring can be a real concern as well. If your child has excessive snoring, maybe they could have a condition such as sleep apnea. A lot of these things, Heidi, a reflection really of something underlying the problem. If answering yes to a lot of these questions, then that could be an indication there is a sleep problem going on.

COLLINS: Boy, and, Sanjay, let me tell you, even at 2 years old, do they ever know those delayed tactics -- just one more book, one drink of water, brush my teeth.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Paging Dr. Gupta this morning, thanks so much, great advice.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 5, 2003 - 08:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's page Dr. Gupta about another common problem facing parents, kids who just can't sleep. Sanjay is it at CNN Center here now with a look at how pediatricians are treating kids who are plagued by sleepless nights, and one of our guys here on the floor said, hey, sleepless kids mean sleepless parents, right.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and that's what the big concern is no question, and you of course have a 2-year- old who sleeps 11 hours, you tell me, but most...

COLLINS: He's an angel.

GUPTA: He's an angel, yes.

COLLINS: But sleepless kids do make for sleepless parents, and that is a huge concern. There's been a lot of research now looking actually at what happens to kids who don't sleep. What they find is that 75 percent of the time, doctors will actually prescribe or recommend over the counter medications and 50 percent of the time prescribe prescription medications for them. That is a little bit of a concern, because there are no FDA approved medication to treat sleeplessness in children.

Let's take a look at the most common sorts of sleep ailments, again, parents knowing more about this, of young children, than anybody else there. Again, the most common types of sleep problems, insomnia, bedtime struggles, delayed sleep phase, night walking, sleep terrors or restless legs.

Now those are the most common problems. Again, those are the reasons that a lot of these kids are getting medicated. Kids get medicating. There are medications for kids for all sorts of things, insomnia being on the list, but also take a look at the list of some of the other things that kids most commonly get medicated for, acute pain, travel. When they go do traveling, a lot of parents will medicate their kids. Development delay, ADHD, autism, mood or anxiety disorders, acute stress, and then of course insomnia as well making the list.

But again, Heidi, this is a bit of a concern, while it may be a quick respite for the parents to go ahead and give the medication for sleeplessness, it's not usually the best answer. There are some recommendations that the Pediatric Society gave us as well, really revolving around a bedtime schedule. They think this sort of behavioral therapy the best option. Take a look at their recommendation, following a set schedule, also using a pre-calming period, either reading to the child or a warm bath, something like that that is routine every single night, a better option they say than medications -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That's right. It just really brings up the point, you know, do I have to drug my child for everything? I think of Ritalin, like you had up there for ADHD, don't really want to use drugs for any of this, so obviously, you've really got to watch the sleep patterns.

Also, let me ask you, Sanjay, how do you know that your child has a sleep problem?

GUPTA: Well, that's an interesting question. Obviously, a lot of children, except for yours, do have sleep problems.

COLLINS: I sound like Kathie Lee.

GUPTA: There are some actual questions you can yourself to try and figure out whether your child has a sleep problem. There is a mnemonic there the NIH actually came up with called BEARS. We can take a look at that. The 'B' really standing for bedtime. Does my children having problems going to bed or falling asleep. A lot of times, this can just be a separation issue as well. A lot of times, kids who have separation issues want the drink of water, they want to go to the bathroom as opposed to going to bed for that reason.

The 'E' stands for excessive daytime sleepiness. Do they seem overtired during the day. Again, an obvious reflection of nighttime sleeping problems if they're sleepy during the day.

Awakening, how many times does your child awaken at night? The frequency of that can also be a determination.

'R' is regulation and duration of sleep. Does my child go to sleep and wake up at the same time? How much sleep is he or she getting?

And finally, 'S,' snoring. Snoring can be a real concern as well. If your child has excessive snoring, maybe they could have a condition such as sleep apnea. A lot of these things, Heidi, a reflection really of something underlying the problem. If answering yes to a lot of these questions, then that could be an indication there is a sleep problem going on.

COLLINS: Boy, and, Sanjay, let me tell you, even at 2 years old, do they ever know those delayed tactics -- just one more book, one drink of water, brush my teeth.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Paging Dr. Gupta this morning, thanks so much, great advice.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com