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Sleep-related deglutition in children

Kiminori Sato1, Tadashi Nakashima

  • 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan.

The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology
|November 9, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Swallowing (deglutition) is infrequent during sleep in children, occurring episodically and often linked to brief arousals. This vital airway protection function decreases with deeper sleep stages.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Neuroscience of Swallowing
  • Airway Protection Mechanisms

Background:

  • Pharyngeal clearance by deglutition is crucial for airway protection.
  • Understanding deglutition patterns during sleep in children is essential for assessing airway safety.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the pattern and frequency of deglutition during sleep in normal children.
  • To correlate deglutition events with sleep stages and electroencephalographic (EEG) arousal.

Main Methods:

  • Ten healthy children (mean age 8.6 years) underwent simultaneous polysomnography and surface electromyography (EMG) of swallowing muscles.
  • Time-matched recordings captured sleep architecture and swallowing activity.

Main Results:

  • Deglutition during sleep was infrequent and episodic, with long periods of absence (mean longest absence: 59.7 minutes).
  • Swallowing frequency decreased significantly with deeper sleep stages (Stage 1: 27.4/hr, Stage 4: 0.9/hr).
  • Most deglutition events were associated with spontaneous EEG arousals across REM and non-REM sleep stages.

Conclusions:

  • Deglutition is an infrequent but vital function during pediatric sleep.
  • The pattern of deglutition is significantly influenced by sleep stage and arousal activity.
Abstract

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