Dyssomnia, Not Otherwise Specified

You said you are concerned about your child's sleep problems. You said that s/he has one or more of the following problems:

• S/he is overly tired. This is because s/he has not gotten enough sleep over a long period of time.
• S/he is unable to fall asleep or sleeps too much. This is usually because of things going on around him/her (e.g., noise, light).
• S/he has a funny feeling in his/her legs that makes him/her want to get up and move around. This usually happens in the evening just before sleep your child falls asleep. This can make it hard for your child to fall asleep. It may also wake him/her up after s/he has just fallen asleep.
• S/he may have jerky movements in the legs. These movements often start as your child falls asleep. They usually become happen less often as the night goes on. At first they happen so often that they can wake your child up over and over again. Your child may not know that s/he is making these jerky movements. S/he may have some of the following problems because of them:
• problems falling asleep
• often waking up at night
• tired during the day

Some children with one or more of these sleep problems have a sleep disorder called Dyssomnia, NOS.

Young children who live in busy or stressful homes may often wake up at night and/or have lots of nightmares. These sleep problems may be related to adults coming and going from the house late at night.

Adapted in part from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (1994) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996).