Healthy Sleep for Kids
When our older son Max was 3 years old, he faced health challenges with his breathing at night. He was not sleeping well. He was breathing through his mouth, not his nose, snoring loudly, and would regularly stop breathing, wake up with a start, then inhale a deep breath and fall asleep again.
The lack of healthy sleep over time led to fatigue during the day, irritability by the end of the day, sensory overwhelm and frequent colds and flus. The body, lacking proper rest, was living in a chronically elevated, high cortisol, fight-or-flight state.
This unhealthy sleep pattern of breathing, snoring and momentarily stopping breathing in the allopathic medical world is labeled ‘obstructive sleep apnea.’ It is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. The medical recommendations for caring for the obstructive sleep apnea were to surgically remove the tonsils and adenoids, and use a machine with a nose mask that he would need to attach for each nights sleep.
As chiropractors, we know that when health challenges appear, the body is indicating some interference to it’s natural ability to function and heal. We know that all parts of the body are there for a reason and have a function. We did not choose to remove tonsils or adenoids. We knew that we needed to address the cause of his sleep challenges, and not just the symptoms.
Removal of Nerve Interference
The first thing we addressed, with the highest priority, was any interference to his nervous system function. Max had been checked for subluxations from birth and adjusted and regularly had any nerve interference cleared. But we thought we might be missing something, so we took him to another chiropractor who was a friend and colleague. He assessed Max’s spine and nervous system, and started adjusting him regularly to remove any interference that was affecting his nervous system and his body’s innate potential for his swollen tonsils to heal.
The second thing we addressed was any irritants in his external environment that could trigger a challenge in breathing. This included a regular thorough cleaning of his room, and new insulation for the floor and windows in his room, as his room was the coldest in the house in the Canadian winter. We also replaced a feather duvet with a cotton one, and we replaced old feather pillows with new foam ones.
We also changed his sleeping surface. We replaced his old mattress with a new one made from bio-based foam, that is non-allergenic, dust and mite free, and non-gas emitting.
The next winter, and each winter since, Max has been sleeping peacefully and quietly. And his immune system, and his innate potential to heal is strong. He has the least colds per winter out of all of our family. Way to go Max!
The Gift of Chiropractic
Great Life Chiropractors, Drs. Gus and Jacqueline Tsiapalis and their team provide corrective chiropractic care for subluxations to remove interference from the nervous system.
Regular chiropractic care is an essential part of optimizing the body’s innate potential. Each adjustment helps to align the spine and restore normal movement which in turn helps optimize the function of the nervous system.
