Baby is sleeping. Isn’t that a beautiful sentence? Especially if you have a little one who likes to stay awake way past everyone’s bedtime. once that baby does go to sleep, it’s like mama’s shoulders immediately relax. so we should just be happy when baby finally does fall asleep, right? even if she’s snoring, right? Well … wrong. it turns out that when a baby is sleeping and there are interruptions in that sleep, specifically if you have a little snorer on your hands, it could be a sign of behavior issues like ADHD cropping up once your child is school-age. 

Great. just great. (Read: sarcasm.) so we can’t sleep when baby sleeps? We have to instead hover and make sure she isn’t snoring like grandpa and if she is we should run to the doctor? Well, not exactly. here are the details ….

This study lead by Karen Bonuck of Albert Einstein College of Medicine looked at the sleep habits of over 11,000 children starting at 6 months of age. the parents noted if their baby snored, breathed through the mouth, or had any form of sleep apnea (interrupted breathing) while asleep. These children were monitored until 7 years of age. it was discovered that “babies who have these sleep problems at 6 months may be anywhere from 20% to 100% more likely to have problem behaviors such as hyperactivity by age 7.”

The little snorers — the ones with the worst sleep disorder symptoms — displayed anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, aggression, and difficulty in getting along with their peers at the ages of 4 through 7. some developed ADHD.

Why does this happen? “Sleep is a time to restore the brain’s cellular and chemical homeostasis,” Bonuck shared. “when sleep is disordered, the brain receives less oxygen than it needs, and may get more carbon dioxide than it needs.” This could be damaging to the brain since it’s still developing and therefore it can affect how the brain develops. This is why good sleep for babies and kids (heck even parents) is so important.

If your baby snores, the first thing to do is talk to your pediatrician to see if your child has enlarged tonsils or adenoids. That can be treated. I guess a little hovering while our babies sleep is a good thing — there are things their bodies can tell us. We can sleep when they’re teenagers.

What do you think of this study? does your baby have any sleep issues? does it worry you?

Image via Kekka/Flickr