Sleep Center
Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report
Sleep Center
Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report
The Children’s Mercy Sleep Center is one of the largest pediatric programs in the country and the only accredited pediatric sleep lab in the region. Our team of experienced and dedicated sleep physicians bring decades of collective experience to the table when evaluating and treating sleep disorders in children.
Our team includes board certified sleep physicians, nurse practitioners, a dedicated sleep psychologist and a CPAP coordinator. We have a robust research program, publishing extensively in high impact sleep medicine journals. We also train future pediatric sleep physicians in one of only a few pediatric-focused sleep medicine fellowships in the country.
Why is sleep important?
Sleep is a very important and fascinating process that we experience every day. We spend at least one third of our life asleep. Sleep duration and quality are vital for your child’s growth and development. Many hormones such as growth hormone are produced predominantly during sleep and help your child grow bigger and stronger. Poor sleep can impact a child’s ability to concentrate and result in problems at school and home. Severe sleep disorders can even impact other health areas, such as blood sugar levels and brain development.
The Sleep Center at Children’s Mercy is the only accredited pediatric sleep lab in the region. We strive to pinpoint the underlying issues impacting your child’s sleep and work with you to develop a care plan. We are committed to bringing the highest level of sleep care to your child, helping to improve their overall health and wellness.
Clinical Services
Many children in our care use a CPAP machine to help regulate their breathing during sleep. The Sleep Medicine Center includes a team specially trained in helping you and your child understand how a CPAP machine fits into your care plan. We work with you to learn how to care for your CPAP machine and related equipment to keep it clean and working properly.
The Sleep Center specializes in coordination of respiratory support equipment and other service that are vital to the care of children who have a wide variety of non-respiratory sleep-related issues. With our focus on children, we are able to care for the highest acuity, complex cases.
The Sleep Clinic provides ongoing care to address your child’s sleep problems. This begins with a thorough evaluation to understand your concerns. We continue to see your child as needed once a care plan is developed.
The Sleep Lab allows technicians who specialize in sleep to observe your child and their sleep patterns. The information gathered during a sleep study informs a care plan. Learn more about what to expect during a sleep study.
Often, children with complex conditions will also experience sleep problems. Our sleep medicine specialists work with other specialties across Children’s Mercy to help create a care plan that includes steps to improve sleep.
Sleep psychology and behavioral therapy can help your family with deeper aspects of your child’s sleep. This may include nighttime fears and nightmares or difficulty falling asleep without a caregiver present. Mental health concerns may be affecting sleep as well, like anxiety, depression or stress.
Conditions
- Behavioral insomnias
- Circadian-rhythm disorders: sleep phase delay in adolescents
- Congenital central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome
- Narcolepsy
- Parasomnias: night or sleep terrors, sleep walking
- Restless leg syndrome-periodic limb movement disorder
- Sleep apneas:
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Central sleep apnea
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Primary sleep apnea of the newborn and infancy
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Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
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- Sleep-related movement disorders: head banging, rocking
- Sleep-related seizure disorders
Contact the Sleep Center
To make a clinic appointment or a sleep lab appointment:
(816) 983-6355
Patients and families may also contact their care team through the MyChildrensMercy patient portal.