Does your child snore? If your child snores, it may mean he has sleep apnea and this means he is not getting enough restful sleep. When children don't get enough restful sleep, it affects their ability to focus in school and consequently it will affect their grades.
“They don't really reach Stage 3, the deepest level of sleep, or the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep which is the dream sleep and just after Stage 3.
“They have very superficial sleep and in the end they do not get restful sleep. Because of their multiple episodes of sleep apnea at night, they have periods of wakefulness – either fully or partially awake. All these repeated episodes of wakefulness causes fragmented sleep and it impacts the child's subsequent school performance,” explains Dr Raymond Tan Suan-Kuo, consultant ENT, snoring surgeon and sleep medicine specialist, head and neck surgeon.
According to him, in a New Zealand study on kids with sleep apnea, it was found that the decrease in IQ and higher mental functions can be permanent if the children are not treated by the time they reach 18 years old.
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