Sleep is a very important part of your daily physical and mental health. Without the proper amount of sleep, your body can’t do what it needs to throughout the day. Getting enough sleep every day helps to lower blood pressure, helps hormone control of growth, cell and tissue repairs, the immune system (to fight infection), blood sugar levels (energy), appetite, and more. This is especially important to children with cancer, as they need the strength and energy to perform daily activities and most importantly for their bodies to fight.
It is extremely common for children with cancer or those in remission to have trouble sleeping. Here are the top six most common sleep disorders among children with cancer.
Top 6 Common Sleep Disorders
- Insomnia
-Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep;
-Chronic Insomnia: 3 or more nights/week for at least 3 months) is common in survivors of childhood cancer
Symptoms:
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Trouble falling asleep |
Resisting to go to bed |
Waking up during the night |
Trouble going back to sleep after nighttime waking |
Waking up too early in the morning |
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Poor sleep quality |
Feeling tired or unrested |
Mood changes (irritability) |
Problems with thinking, attention, and/or memory |
Problems functioning at school/work |
Causes:
- Learned through changes in sleep habits (Behavioral Insomnia)
- New sleep habits due to nighttime caretaking, fever checks, co-sleeping, etc. (In relation to cancer treatment)
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS)
- A condition that causes a person to feel very sleepy during the day, that doesn't go away with extra sleep
Symptoms:
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Sleeping longer at night |
Falling asleep at unusual/inappropriate times (Ex: school/work) |
|
Taking naps during the day |
“Microsleeps”/ “Zoning Out” (briefly falling asleep and not even knowing they have slept) |
- Hypersomnia & Narcolepsy
-Most common among children with certain types of brain tumors
Symptoms:
|
Excessive daytime sleepiness |
- Sleep Apnea
- A breathing disorder that causes a person to stop breathing for brief periods during sleep; caused by the narrowing of the upper airway or throat
- MOST COMMON among children with brain tumors
- Obstructive Apnea (OSA): When the throat or upper airway becomes narrow or closed during sleep
- Central Sleep Apnea: When the brain signals/muscles that control breathing don't work
Daytime Symptoms:
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Morning headaches |
Fatigue/daytime sleepiness (young children may not display this) |
Mood changes |
Irritability |
|
Problems with thinking, attention, memory |
Problems functioning at school/work |
Hyperactivity |
Nighttime Symptoms:
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Snoring (especially if loud) |
Breathing that stops for a short period of time then restarts |
Gasping for air |
Choking, coughing |
Nightmares |
Labored breathing |
|
Mouth breathing |
Restlessness during sleep |
Sleeping in unusual positions |
Sweating |
Bedwetting |
Sleepwalking |
- Restless Legs Syndrome (Willis-Ekbom disease) -
-A neurological sleep disorder that creates the urge to move legs, along with unpleasant/uncomfortable sensations in legs during sleep
- Occurs when a person is not actively using legs (typically at night)
-Can make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep
Symptoms:
-Tends to be worse at night
-Improves or goes away with movement/pressure
-Usually occurs in both legs
|
An overwhelming urge to move the legs while at rest |
Sensations of itching, crawling, pulling, aching in the legs (Children describe this as needing to stretch, feeling like bugs are crawling on legs, “tingly” feelings) |
Causes:
-Low ferritin (iron storage) levels
-Certain medicines (antidepressants, anti-nausea medications, etc.)
-Family history of RLS, ADHD, anxiety, depression, kidney disease, sickle cell disease, and/or peripheral neuropathy
Naturally, sleep disorders affect normal sleep patterns, especially in children. Patients who experience these problems could also have trouble focusing on school/work, emotional or behavioral changes/issues, and overall have a harder time recovering from treatment. Sleep problems among children can be treated by sticking to a normal-uninterrupted sleep schedule. By improving sleep habits overall, sleep disorders sometimes go away on their own. In certain cases though, treatment may be necessary, or at least helpful.
Tips to Help Overcome Sleep Disorders
Children with cancer are more likely to have sleep disorders due to their medications, already disrupted sleep schedules and more. Here are some tips for how to help your children overcome these sleep disorders.
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First and foremost, talk with your child’s doctor/health team if you notice sleeping problems. This is important as certain treatments or medications are known to affect sleep. Your child’s doctor can help with deciding what medications might need to be altered.
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Make sure that your child is taking their medications on a schedule or at the same time every day.
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Have your child see a sleep specialist. This is someone that your child’s doctor can refer you to should you decide that it is needed.
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Limit nap time during the day. Even if your child is really tired, it is important to save their sleep time for the night to maintain a proper sleep schedule.
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Have your child exercise, in some way, at least once a day (Ex: go on a walk, play outside, ride a bike, etc.)
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Start tracking your child’s sleep patterns in a sleep diary. This will help you and their doctor know exactly when they are sleeping and possibly, what is causing the disruption of sleep. This can be something that you have your child help with too.
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Serve your child a warm drink before bed (warm milk, decaf tea, etc.). Warm drinks are known to help with relaxation and possible sleepiness, especially at nighttime.
Is your child dealing with a sleep disorder or having trouble sleeping at night? How did they overcome it? What have you done that has helped? Please share your tips and strategies for helping to overcome sleep disorders for cancer fighters!
For more information on sleep disorders among children with cancer visit the resources used below: