Why does Bob rub his nose during sleep?

Alison was wondering why her 5-year-old son, Bob, sometimes rubbed his nose during sleep. She said, “In the middle of the night, Bob suddenly sat up in bed and rubbed his nose vigorously for a few seconds. He then quickly went back to sleep again”. Do you know what’s happening to Bob?

Further inquiries revealed that Bob also suffered from frequent early morning sneezing. Stuffy nose sometimes occurred during the night. All these symptoms suggest that Bob most likely had got nasal allergy. It is better to get a doctor to check it out. When figuring out why a child gets itchiness allergy symptom in sleep, we should firstly look at environmental factors. Nasal symptoms could be exaggerated by allergic exposures such as house dust mites, animal furs, molds, or pollens. Dust mite is the most common allergen that exists all year round in households including beds and pillows. Bob’s sleep is interrupted by the itchiness and stuffiness of nose. Our concern is rather on the quality of sleep which plays a fundamental role in physical and intellectual development. An adult who is lack of sleep will feel tired and lose concentration during the day. A child with sleep deprivation may behave differently. He or she may become irritable or hyperactive with decreased attention span. A good night’s sleep is certainly essential for the promotion of health and wellness. Allergen avoidance is a strategy to reduce allergy symptoms. Please visit www.HealthySleepPillow.com to find out the ways to minimize dust mites in bedding and pillows.

Today is the World Sleep Day, 19 March 2010

Today is the World Sleep Day. The day is being celebrated since 2008. The initiative for the celebration of the day was taken by the World Association of Sleep Medicine with an intention to call to act on important issues related to sleep including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. The promotion of the event aims to raise public awareness of sleep disorders which refers to any difficulties related to sleeping including difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors during sleep. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, there are more than 80 forms of sleep disorders. Insomnia is the most common type that characterizes by having difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or persistently unrefreshing sleep. Sleep apnea is also common and often underestimated. People with sleep apnea have repeated episodes of pauses in breathing while sleeping.

It is estimated that approximately 40 millions of Americans suffer from sleep disorders. What’s worse is that some of the disorders increase the risk of various medical conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, mood disorders, or even death. In addition, sleep-related motor vehicle accidents are occasionally reported. Untreated sleep disorders could lead to indirect financial loss. In fact, many of the sleep disorders can be prevented and treated. However, problems are often ignored or overlooked by general populations. This could probably be due to the fact that many of the sleep-disordered symptoms such as snoring and daytime sleepiness are not regarded as abnormal issues. Dr Ignatius Mark, a Singaporean ENT Surgeon, pointed out, “It is a misconception that lack of sleep or not having good sleep quality is acceptable and a normal part of aging. As a matter of fact, good sleep is a very important for good health and the lack of awareness may cause sleep disorders to remain unrecognized and undiagnosed.” There are many factors affecting quality sleep. For comfortable sleep, please visit www.HealthySleepPillow.com for details.

Let us “Sleep Well, Stay Healthy” – the slogan of the World Sleep Day in the current year.