Every kid healthy week is an annual observance that was created to celebrate school health and wellness achievements. It is observed during the last week of April each year, but why is it so special? I know, you are always concerned with your child’s health, but that doesn’t mean we can’t add more attention to it. This special week shines a spotlight on the great efforts our school partners are doing to improve the health and wellness of their students and the link between nutrition, physical activity and learning. After all, health kids really od learn better!
As part of Every Kid Healthy Week, at Craniofacial Pain & Dental Sleep Center of Georgia, we want to make sure your children are healthy, too. From facial protection with mouth guards to diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, we want to be your partner in keeping your children healthy not just for one week, but for life.
Children and Sleep Apnea
Children have smaller lungs, which means they have less oxygen in reserve. As a result, this causes them to take frequent, shallow breaths rather than slow, deep breaths. And, when this occurs it can cause a child to have too much carbon dioxide in the blood. As an adult, you may have fragmented sleep, briefly waking up after breathing stops, but a child does not wake up in response to those pauses in breathing. Instead, they have a higher “Arousal threshold” than adults, which makes their sleeping patterns fairly normal with sleep apnea.
In children, obstructions typically occur during the stage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Even brief apneas can cause children to have low levels of oxygen in the blood and can occur quickly in a child with OSA. For this reason, it is important to get your child properly diagnosed and treated for sleep apnea in order to ensure their health and safety.
Contact Craniofacial Pain & Dental Sleep Center of Georgia for more information on sleep apnea and how we can help keep your children healthy and happy.
