Yes, Children Can Have Sleep Apnoea – And It Can Trigger ADHD-Like Symptoms

In some children, it can cause restlessness, impulsivity and poor attention.

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

It’s thought up to 10 million people in the UK are living with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a condition which interrupts breathing during sleep.

According to the Sleep Apnoea Trust, apnoea means a temporary pause in breathing for at least 10 seconds (usually when someone is asleep).

These pauses can cause dips in blood oxygen levels and sleep disruption, with those impacted waking up tired and irritable after what might seem like a full night’s sleep.

While we often hear about the condition’s impact on adults – it’s been linked to a whole host of health issues including high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, depression and cardiac problems – less is said about the impact on children.

Based on his work over the past three decades, Dr Badr Chaban, medical director of London Paediatric Clinic and a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, estimates that around 3% of children have sleep apnoea. Some studies put this at 1-5% of children globally, but researchers note it’s “often underdiagnosed”.

Dr Emily Boss, director of paediatric ENT surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine, suggested about one in 20 children have OSA, but the prevalence is “more common in children........

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