Sleep Medicine

Helping Kids Get a Better Night’s Rest

Young boy with sleep issue sleeping at school.

Sleep is so important for your child’s health, and studies show that kids aren’t getting enough of it. Sleep disorders and problems can lead to trouble focusing, a decline in grades, irritability, daytime sleepiness, injuries, hyperactivity and more. Nemours’ board-certified pediatric sleep medicine experts have special, advanced training to diagnose, evaluate the causes of, and treat sleep disorders in children. A sleep study (also called “polysomnography”) may help determine if your child has a breathing or movement disorder, has problems falling or staying asleep, or is experiencing a behavioral or academic (school) problem related to sleep.

Conditions We Treat

Many types of sleep disorders in children, medical conditions and complex medical needs can contribute to sleep problems.

We see a full spectrum of conditions — far too many to list here. The conditions we treat vary depending upon the location and providers selected. Don’t see a condition listed? Call us.

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
behavioral and emotional/psychological problems
breathing (respiratory) problems
biological clock (circadian) rhythm disorders (inability to sleep and wake at times needed for work, school, etc.)
bruxism (nighttime teeth grinding or clenching)
chronic or complex lung conditions (such as asthma and cystic fibrosis)
craniofacial disorders (of the head and face, like cleft lip and palate)
delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS, trouble falling asleep and waking up)
ear, nose and throat conditions (such as enlarged adenoids and tonsils)
epilepsy/seizure disorders
gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD, or frequent heartburn, especially when sleeping)
genetic disorders (like Down syndrome)
headaches
insomnia (trouble falling and staying asleep)
muscular dystrophy
narcolepsy (uncontrollable urge to sleep during the daytime)
neuromuscular disorders (such as multiple sclerosis)
nocturnal enuresis (nighttime bedwetting)
nocturnal (nighttime) seizures
parasomnias (night terrors, nightmares or sleepwalking)
restless leg syndrome (uncontrollable movement during sleep)
rhythmic movement disorders (head banging or rocking)
sleep disordered breathing (such as snoring and sleep apnea)
weight problems/obesity

Services We Offer

We may perform a sleep study — when our pediatric sleep medicine experts monitor your child’s sleep over the course of an entire night. We’ll track vital information such as brain waves, breathing, movement and heart rate. The sleep study begins with a registered sleep technologist attaching painless, sticky sensors to your child’s head, nose, mouth, chest, abdomen, index finger and legs. You’ll have a private room with a TV, linens and pillows. Although your child should sleep alone in the sleep study bed, you can be in the room the whole time, sleeping on a cot or couch that converts into a bed.

If the sleep study does discover a problem, we’ll work closely with you, your child and family to create an individualized treatment plan that’s kid-friendly and easy to follow.

Why Choose Us

At Nemours, our care and our doctors have been recognized for being among the best in the country. Our pediatric sleep medicine teams may include pulmonologists (lung doctors), neurologists (brain and nervous system doctors), respiratory specialists (health care professionals who provide breathing therapy) and registered sleep technologists (who conduct sleep studies). We also work with doctors from other specialties such as:

developmental pediatrics
gastroenterology
genetics
otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat, or ENT)
psychology and psychiatry
weight management

Learn More About Why to Choose Us »

Regional Sleep Medicine Highlights

Services, programs, facilities and care teams differ at each location. Call for details.

Delaware Valley/Greater Philadelphia

We offer pediatric sleep medicine at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children (Wilmington, Del.).

pediatric sleep medicine program accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Complex Sleep Disordered Breathing Clinic (CSDBC) — the first of its kind in the Delaware Valley — where pulmonology and otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) specialists see your child the same day, in the same clinic
state-of-the-art and fully equipped five-bed sleep lab to perform sleep studies
psychologist/behavioral sleep specialist helping kids with trouble falling and/or staying asleep

Central Florida

We offer pediatric sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital (Orlando).

pediatric sleep medicine program that includes the expertise of doctors from multiple specialties
state-of-the-art and fully equipped eight-bed sleep lab to perform sleep studies

Northeast Florida

We offer pediatric sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville (in collaboration with Wolfson Children’s Hospital) and select satellite Nemours Children’s Specialty Care locations.

team of board-certified pediatric neurologists led by a sleep medicine neurologist in our state-of-the-art Sleep Center , accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, at Wolfson's Children's Hospital (ranked among the nation's best children's hospitals for pediatric neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report)
behavioral sleep clinic, with a medical doctor and psychologist/behavioral sleep specialist focusing on trouble falling and/or staying asleep
specialty sleep clinics focusing on narcolepsy, epilepsy, complex airways and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. In CPAP therapy, a person wears a mask that covers the nose and mouth during sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that continuously pumps air into it to open the airways.

Northwest Florida

We offer pediatric sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Pensacola.

multiple pulmonologists selected as some of the Best Doctors in America®
pediatric sleep medicine program that includes the expertise of doctors from multiple specialties
state-of-the-art and fully equipped four-bed sleep lab to perform sleep studies