Sleep problems are quite a common problem among children, with up to 40% of children experiencing one or more forms of sleep disorders in their lifetime. In their mild forms, these problems exhibit transient difficulties that can be cured by specific medical interventions. For others, however, sleep disruption can be experienced over extended periods, despite the therapeutic interventions given, impacting the overall behavior and health of the child negatively. Talking of overall health and behavior being adversely affected by sleep disruption, cases such as low academic performance, poor impulsive control, and impaired social functioning are some of the activities that result from sleep disorders. Sleep problems and disorders in children take on various forms, as will be discussed in subsequent paragraphs, one of which is insomnia. These disorders affect not only the psychological development of a child but also their physical health. For instance, cardiovascular risks are highly likely to result from sleep problems.
It is essential to observe that there is a difference between sleep problems and sleep disorders and that sleep disorders are psychological issues which could result from sleep problems. The development of enduring sleep disorders, for instance, is highly likely to affect children with psychiatric illnesses, which means sleep disorders can as well be a result of other diseases. This is because sleep problems, in most cases, accompany mental health diagnoses. About 80% of adults report having sleep disruptions at some point or the other during the course of their illness (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . In studying sleep in children with anxiety disorders, it is said that up to 20% of children experience anxiety disorders which to a high level are associated with impairments in functions across a wide array of human functionality, ranging from academics, social interactions to family relationships.
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Some of the anxiety disorders that children suffer from, which are primarily characterized by sleep problems include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD). All of these types of disorders affect the cycle of falling in and maintaining one's sleep. Other non-clinical childhood fears as well are attributed to anxiety disorders resulting in sleep problems (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . These include fear of the dark, monsters under the bed, and other fears that may result from horror stories. These problems are for the most significant part developmentally appropriate, associated with the presence of transient sleep disruption, and occur in a majority of children. It is tricky, however, to draw the line between the anxiety disorders at this stage and horror fears, both of which are studied from the same point (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . To tell the magnitude of the anxiety disorder; therefore, the nighttime fears have to be accompanied by persistent and severe sleep problems for it to be symptomatic of the underlying anxiety disorder.
The process of falling asleep is widely characterized into two phases; the non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and the rapid eye movement sleep (REM). The said stages are defined by features of the EEG (electroencephalographic) patterns, which have polysomnographic features (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . Music tone and eye movements are other factors that define the stages of sleep. The NREM is divided into three stages, from the light sleep into a deep sleep, which occurs mostly in the first part of the night. The amount of deep sleep becomes maximal during childhood, having increased during the first year of life, before starting to decrease in adolescence since adults require less sleep than children (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . It is essential that children go through all the phases of sleep in the two main stages of sleep, with the REM being characterized by a strong fall in peripheral muscle tone and increased cerebral activity.
It is at the REM stage that human beings experience their dreams. Sleep structures change and develop according to age since, at different ages, a child is exposed to various activities, some more drawing than others. Sleep disorders can be disastrous in instances where a child is exposed to vigorous activities but lacks enough sleep to help rest the mind. In toddlers, it is required that they sleep approximately 12 hours, with one nap during the day (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . This is because, at this stage, the brain activities are highly active, making it difficult for them to experience deep sleep. The nap disappears between the ages of 3 and five years, as the amount of deep sleep increases (Alfano & Gamble, 2009) . Sleep problems are subsequently common in this stage, with about 30% of toddlers reporting common sleep disorders such as night walking and bedtime problems.
Sleep disorders are classified into seven major categories, ranging from insomnia to other sleep disorders. Insomnia is characterized by the inability to initiate and maintain sleep, waking up early with difficulties in returning to sleep and staying awake for most of the day. The third characteristic is mostly not considered, although it is critical to point out that in normal circumstances where a person has problems sleeping at night, they mostly become fatigued during the day (Ophoff et al., 2018) . In children, without the supervision of their parents, they are unable to fall asleep, and they wake up early. During the initial stages of insomnia in children, it is characterized by daytime sleepiness, which limits their daytime activities (Ophoff et al., 2018) . Due to the fatigue suffered at this phase, the child gets typically irritated quickly, with frequent mood swings, which result in behavioral problems for their child, parents, and those around them. In extreme cases, such children become violent and hostile, engaging in frequent fights.
Central disorders of hypersomnolence is an excessive daytime sleepiness disorder in children that is not attributed to another sleep disorder. In simple terms, the disease is defined as "daily episodes of an irrepressible need to sleep or daytime lapses into sleep” (Ophoff et al., 2018) . This sleep disorder can occur even in instances where the child gets enough sleep during the night. However, due to the nature of hypersomnolence, it is necessary that multiple sleep latency tests (MSLTs) are carried out to objectify the condition. These should only be carried out after a PSG so that sufficient nocturnal sleep is observed. Additionally, this process helps to seclude all other sleep disorders to ensure that the condition is not a symptom of any other sleep disorder (Ophoff et al., 2018) . Other sleep disorders include parasomnias, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, and sleep-related movement disorders, which must not be confused by sleepwalking. Simple movements characterize Sleep-related movement disorders during sleep, such as head banging and bruxism.
It is essential that parents and guardians take their children for medical checkouts at the earliest stages of the development of sleep disorders. Sleep disorders may not be easy to tell at the early stages. For instance, insomnia starts as difficulty in falling asleep and may then proceed into peaceful sleep until the early hours of the morning, which the parent may not see as a disorder (Ophoff et al., 2018) . In this case, therefore, doctors advise that parents take their children for medical checkups should they observe any irregularity in their sleep. Some of the interventions for sleep problems include sleep therapy, which provides for exercises of regular sleep, which is, developing a regular timetable for sleep (Ophoff et al., 2018) . In cases of chronic sleep disorder, therapeutic interventions, and the use of sleep devices, as well as sleeping medication, can be given to the child.
In conclusion, it is essential to note that sleep disorders are quite common in children, and can be caused by a lot of factors, some of which may not be environmental, contrary to what many parents may like to believe. It is, therefore, that the parent talks their child for medical checkups whenever they observe sleep irregularity. If left untreated, sleep disorders can have dire consequences on the holistic growth and development of the child. Some of the problems associated with sleep disorders in children include lack of social interaction skills, poor academic performance, and health implications such as cardiac implications. Mental and psychological effects would consist of madness in severe cases, although these are rare. It is worth noting the effort put in by the authors of the two articles in addressing some of the sleep disorders in children, showing their causes and symptoms, as well as their implications, not forgetting giving possible mechanisms of handling the different scenarios. Sleep disorders in children are easily managed, provided the right interventions are given at the right time.
References
Alfano, C. A., & Gamble, A. L. (2009, December). The role of sleep in childhood psychiatric disorders. In Child & youth care forum (Vol. 38, No. 6, pp. 327-340). Springer US.
Ophoff, D., Slaats, M. A., Boudewyns, A., Glazemakers, I., Van Hoorenbeeck, K., & Verhulst, S. L. (2018). Sleep disorders during childhood: a practical review. European journal of pediatrics , 177 (5), 641-648.
