You said that you were concerned about your child's sleep problems. You said that your child has seemed more sleepy
than normal for at least 1 month. Your child may have been very upset or irritable the week before s/he had these
sleep problems.
You also said that your child does at least one of the following:
has trouble falling asleep
has trouble staying asleep
does not feel rested even when s/he gets enough sleep
Your child may seem sleepy during the day. S/he may take naps during the day. You also said that his/her sleepiness
is causing problems for him/her at school or home. S/he may also have problems getting along with you or other children.
Children with these problems sometimes have a sleep disorder called Primary Hypersomnia. This disorder is very rare in
preschool aged children. It may be that your child is having some other types of sleep difficulties that need to be
addressed.
It is important to note that the amount of sleep needed is different for each child. People who need a lot of sleep
are not tired during the day if they are able to enough sleep at night. People with this disorder are tired during
the day even if they get enough sleep at night.
This problem is rare. It typically begins in people between the ages of 15 and 30 years. Very few young children
have this disorder. Young children are often tired during the day for other reasons. They are usually tired during
the day because they are not getting enough sleep at night.
Your child's doctor will order some tests to see if your child has Hypersomnia.
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).
