Sleep issues are common in SAS and can be severe, affecting the sleep of the whole family. Sleep deficiency can affect an individual's mood, his/her ability to learn and concentrate, and impact seizure frequency negatively.
Management:
Sleep initiation issues are sometimes managed with better sleep hygiene (relaxing routines and habits), but many families also look into supplements or medication. A common choice within the SAS community is melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone that depending on the location can be either sold over-the counter or per prescription. Melatonin usually doesn't help with sleep maintenance unless given as a depot (slow-release) pill.
Sleep maintenance can be hard to achieve and some SAS children and families struggle with nightly awakenings and moving/kicking. There is currently no recommended treatment as the underlying issue in SAS is unknown, but symptomatic treatment with sleep medications can sometimes be helpful. It is also important to exclude other conditions that can cause sleep disruptions such as intestinal parasites, epilepsy (ESES) or low ferritin levels (causing restless legs syndrome) as these need other treatments.
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