New Sleep Diagnosis: Restless Sleep Disorder
October 7, 2020
An international panel of sleep experts is adding a new pediatric sleep disorder they call restless sleep disorder (RSD) to parents’ and pediatricians’ radars.
Led by Seattle Children’s pediatric sleep specialist, Dr. Lourdes DelRosso, the group shared their consensus on a medical definition of RSD in a paper published in Sleep Medicine. Known to occur in children ages 6 to 18, RSD can lead to attention impairment, mood and behavioral problems and other issues at home and school due to poor sleep quality.
“For many years, those of us in sleep medicine have recognized a pattern of sleep that affected a child’s behavior but didn’t fit the criteria for other known sleep disorders or conditions linked to restless sleep like obstructive apnea or restless legs syndrome,” DelRosso said. “This work provides consensus on a definition and diagnostic criteria for RSD, offering a new tool to help more children suffering from restless sleep.”
Read the full story: Making Sense of Restless Sleep Disorder in Children, Seattle Children’s On the Pulse, September 2020.
Sleep Research Study – Recruiting Healthy Adolescents to Learn More About Sleep Deficiency
Parents and their adolescents, ages 8 to 18 years, are invited to participate in the SaSSy Study at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Adolescents and their parents would complete online questionnaires at home five times over the course of 12 months. Adolescents would wear a small watch-like device for a week at each time to measure sleep and activity. Families who take part may earn up to $150 in Amazon e-gift cards to thank them for their time.
The goal of the research study is to learn more about the different factors that may affect children’s sleep after critical illness. The sleep of adolescent participants would be compared to the sleep of children who have critical illness. Participation in the study is voluntary and would help children in the future. To learn more about the study, families may visit this link and fill out the form. For more information, families may email palermolab@seattlechildrens.org or call 206-884-1128.