Tonsils, ADHD and Sleep!
by Lisa Malkiewicz creator of the Sleep Fairy guided relaxation CD for children.
A new study says children who have their tonsils out get benefits that go far beyond the elimination of strep throat, they appear to sleep better, and behave better as well!
New research by a team from the University of Michigan Health System shows that many kids with behavior issues may, in fact, be suffering from sleep-disordered breathing.
Data and results collected from rigorous tests of sleep and breathing at night, and attention and behavior during the day support previous observations of a link between children’s sleep-related breathing problems — such as snoring and breathing interruptions called apneas — and daytime behavior problems.
About half of the children in the study who had ADHD before tonsil surgery no longer met criteria for this diagnosis one year later.
Now don’t jump the gun and presume a tonsillectomy is going to help every child who has ADHD symptoms and sleep-disordered breathing. Tonsils have a function and to remove tonsils unnecessarily removes some of your immune defenses that nature provided you with.
It’s important for a child who is hyperactive and not sleeping well to see their pediatrician or possibly a sleep specialist.
This study is in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.