Sleep Wake Schedule Problems

Sleep Center Team Offers Hope and Help for Children and Teens with Sleep Wake Schedule Problems

Sleep doctors at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital offer safe and effective treatments to help children and teens reprogram their body clocks so they can feel their very best. UH Pediatric Sleep Center is dedicated to helping children with all types of common sleep problems, including sleep wake schedule problems or circadian rhythm disturbances.

Sleep Wake Schedule Problems Symptoms

We know that today’s fast-paced society often results in later bedtimes and early awakenings for many children and teens, leaving them deprived of quality sleep. Especially in teenagers, the body’s clock can shift, so the teen finds it nearly impossible to have an early bedtime and wake up for school the next morning. These issues can result in body clock problems that can negatively affect the teens’ performance at school and relationships with friends and family.

Additionally, teens might feel wide-awake at night and not fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m. Other warning signs of a sleep wake schedule problem with teens can include the following:

• Academic issues
• Tardiness
• Truancy
• Falling asleep unexpectedly during the day

Sleep Wake Schedule Problems Treatment

The highly trained, board-certified doctors at the Pediatric Sleep Center work with children and teens to help them get in sync with their body’s circadian rhythm, or daily biological rhythms. After performing a physical examination and taking the patient’s medical history, the specialist may order a sleep study or polysomnogram. This overnight sleep study, performed at University Hospitals, monitors various sleep and breathing measurements during the child’s entire night of sleep.

Sleep wake schedule problems can be fixed for improved sleep quality. Treatment for children or teens may include reprogramming the body’s internal clock with behavioral therapies and medication, if needed.