Speech On Night Terrors

I. Childhood sleep disorders are quite frequent in young children. My brother, Andrew, was affected by a sleep disorder called night terrors. Childhood sleep disorders are a group of conditions characterized by disturbance, timing, and the amount of a child’s slumber. Most sleep disorders are caused by genetics, stress, or their emotions. There are about 70 disorders in total that a child could possibly receive and many of them are very simple to detect, cure, and treat. There are two types of disorders, Dyssomnias and Parasomnias. Dysomnias are sleep disorders that cause someone to have trouble falling or staying asleep. Parasomnias are sleep disorders that cause someone to experience physical events while sleeping. Childhood sleep disorders

The child will eventually fall back asleep and will have no memory of the night terror from the past night.

B. Night terrors are mainly caused by genetics, but can also be caused by many more.

1. When they are not caused by genetics, night terrors can be caused by the lack of oxygen in the blood.

2. Night terrors are also more common in females than males.

C. Night terrors are most common in young children.

1. Night terrors mainly occur in young children because younger children spend more time in deep sleep than older children and adults.

2. They are so common that about 37% of 18 month year-olds’ experience at least one episode.

3. Many children have at least one episode of night terrors although many children have recurring episodes.

IV. Sleepwalking and sleep talking is when the body wakes up, but the brain does not and it is the most common in children.

V. Teeth grinding can be very painful since a child’s jaw repeatedly contracts then releases.

A. Teeth grinding can be very dangerous as well lead to many severe problems.

1. Teeth grinding, also known as Bruxium, is when a child 's jaw repeatedly tightens and contracts. The contraction then causes the loud, grinding

The teeth grinding only lasts a few seconds, but since it is so powerful it creates horrible pain and sound.

1. It mainly occurs during deep and dreams sleep and is most likely to be caused by jaw problems or stress.

2. Sometimes during teeth grinding, it can wear down the enamel on your teeth and it could possibly be beneficial to see the dentist and get a mouth guard.

VI. Restless leg syndrome, also known as RLS, is repetitive limb movements that can be very painful as well as dangerous that occurs in adults and children.

A. While having Restless leg syndrome, many people feel a tingling sensation, which cause their legs to twitch and kick.

1. Someone who is experiencing an episode, is sometimes unaware to notice that they are kicking.

2. About 12 million adults and children in the U.S. have restless leg syndrome.

3. Usually if you are experiencing RLS, you would feel a deep ache in the bones and irritation in the limbs.

B. Doctors are unsure of what the cause is but the latest research has some new ideas.

1. One idea is that the muscles relax while sleeping, then something goes wrong and the muscles overreact causing the deep ache and the kicking.

2. RLS usually occur in the early stages of sleep but can rarely occur in deep