Why do babies snore while sleeping?

Quality sleep is essential for your baby's physical and mental development. Most babies snore occasionally during sleep, such as during a cold or allergy attack, which is not harmful. If your baby snores frequently and loudly during sleep, it may be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, which can affect all aspects of your child's development by overloading the heart and lungs, in addition to failing to supply sufficient oxygen to the body.

Kaiya Baby will answer these questions and more to help you support your baby's development through this playful bonding time. Keep reading to find out all about why babies snore while sleeping.

Some moms will find that their babies used to sleep well and quietly like kittens, but recently, they suddenly snore in their sleep; what's going on?

◆ Prolonged snoring is actually an illness!

There are still many parents who think, "When a child snores, he or she is sleeping deeply, soundly and well. Moreover, when a child snores, he/she blows a small bubble, which is very cute!

However, snoring is really not that cute! What kind of misconceptions do you have about snoring?

You should know that if your child snores with his mouth open for a long period of time, it is actually a medical condition called "Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypoventilation Syndrome."

◆ Is snoring related to your child's poor growth?

So, how exactly is snoring harmful? In general, it mainly includes several kinds:

1. Affecting the growth and development of children

As the saying goes, children can only grow well if they sleep well. This is because children need a hormone called "growth hormone" to grow in size and brain.

However, the secretion of growth hormone usually occurs in the second half of the night or when the child is in deep sleep.

If your child snores or holds his/her breath during sleep, he/she will not be able to enter a deep sleep state, and the secretion of growth hormones will be affected, which will directly affect his/her growth and development.

2. Affecting face value

Children snore for a long time because the respiratory tract is not smooth, so they will inevitably open their mouths to breathe.

The result of long-term open-mouth breathing is that the skeletal structure of the face will change, such as the upper jaw arched, the lower jaw retracted, the tongue bed becomes narrower, etc., and the whole face will become prominent, affecting the child's face value.

As for the specific photos, parents can google around; it really is not lying to you!

3. Affect the mental state during the day

Children who can't get into a deep sleep at night are actually not resting well, which will definitely affect their mental state during the day.

If it is a smaller child, it appears to be very grumpy and does not do anything difficult to cooperate; if it is a larger child, such as a school-age child, it may be manifested as inattention and memory loss, resulting in a decline in academic performance and so on.

4. Affecting other organ health

Long-term snoring can also be harmful to the heart because excessive snoring and breath-holding can cause enlargement of the heart, which is, of course, relatively rare.

◆ In these cases you don't have to go to the hospital 

Seeing these hazards, parents may be a little nervous; it is estimated that as soon as you hear your child snoring, you will want to take it to the doctor.

In fact, there is no need to be so nervous because there are many reasons for snoring; in these cases, parents can continue to observe and do not need to rush to take the child to the hospital.

1. Add a pillow, don't hit the head

We often jokingly say, "Posture is not right; get up and re-sleep." Do not say it is really so!

Some mothers, early to the baby, add a small pillow for their baby in bed; sometimes, the pillow is not suitable, and the baby's little neck is easy to do not.

The wrong posture will inevitably lead to breathing difficulties. Therefore, in this case, the mother may wish to help the child adjust the sleeping position or directly draw off the pillow and observe whether the child will continue to snore.

2. The child is tired of playing

Some parents will find that taking the child out to play all day and coming back to the child will really sleep "whirring." What is the situation?

In this kind of child play-too-trouble situation, after entering the sleep state, the muscles will become particularly flaccid, accidentally blocking the respiratory tract halfway.

However, this situation usually lasts only a day or two; the child will be fine after a good rest.

3. Your child has a cold

If a child encounters an upper respiratory tract infection, which is often referred to as a cold, the pharyngeal tissues tend to swell up, and the pharyngeal cavity will be very narrow, such as enlarged tonsils and so on.

When there is a cold, fever, throat inflammation and so on, the child is prone to snoring.

But once the swelling of the pharynx subsides, it will get better and usually lasts for 1~2 weeks at most, so there is no need to worry about this situation.

When should I take my baby to the doctor?

Parents need to pay attention to the fact that snoring affects the quality of the child's sleep and may lead to apnea during sleep. As a parent, you should observe your child's abnormalities and take your baby to the doctor if any of the following occurs:

Loud snoring and shortness of breath

Struggling or startling during sleep

Sleeping in an abnormal position, e.g., prone, head tilted upwards, chin raised higher than usual.

Some babies may wet the bed

Headache or tiredness in the morning

Difficulty eating or lack of appetite

Behavioral problems, such as aggression, hyperactivity, unusual playfulness or daytime sleepiness

What causes snoring in children?

There are many causes of snoring in children, such as allergies and being overweight. However, most of them are caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which are lymphatic organs located in the nasopharynx and pharynx. Most of these children are accompanied by allergic reactions and are prone to colds, and repeated colds tend to cause enlarged tonsils and adenoids.