A mum has revealed that her son’s bad behaviour was due to the way he sleeps.
Melody Yazdani’s eight-year-old son was throwing temper tantrums every day and every night, as early as 5am.
The US mum said that her son would scream, kick, and shout for hours, leaving her at a loss at what she was doing wrong.
The Sun reports that Melody was told by therapists that her son might have ADHD. However, she eventually discovered that her son, Kian, actually had sleep apnoea and bad sinus problems… which she discovered when she saw he was sleeping with his mouth open.
These problems were stopping Kian from falling into a deep sleep at night, therefore leaving him irritable when he woke in the mornings.
And although a child sleeping with their mouth open some of the time is normal, if it’s happening a lot, Melody suggests that it could be a sign of something more worrisome.
According to the HSE, sleep apnoea causes the walls of the throat to relax and narrow when a child is asleep. This interrupts normal breathing, leading to a bad night’s sleep that is often felt the next day.
Sleep apnoea can also lead to other health related issues and behavioural related issues too.
Following Kian’s diagnosis, he had his tonsils and adenoids removed and was eventually able to breathe through his nose while asleep.
Melody said that her son’s behaviour did a “complete 180” and that he’s no longer throwing temper tantrums.
