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By: Elizabeth Radisson
Children who are five or six years old and are continual bed-wetters have long been considered by the medical community to suffer from a sleep disorder. Current studies appear to show that this is not the case and that these children typically sleep deeply and fail to rouse when the brain sends the message that the bladder is full. Controlled laboratory studies show that deep sleeping is responsible in part for bed-wetting, but is not the chief cause. A study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine recorded the electroencephalography (EEG) of the participating children. This is a monitoring of the brain’s electrical activity throughout sleep. Children suffering from a variety of sleep disorders were recorded by the EEG as having abnormal electrical patterns. Children who suffered from enuresis, but no known sleep disorder, exhibited regular brain activity throughout sleep. These results support the thought that sleep disorders and nocturnal enuresis are not linked. The medical community don’t know just what causes nocturnal enuresis, though complete bladder control is a slow process that takes time, with no definitive age of mastery for all children. Some children master their bladder at night at a very early age while others take significantly more time. Daytime bladder control is normally achieved first while children are awake and alert, able to respond without delay to a full bladder. Many parts of the body must work together in regulating bladder function and urine control including the nerves, muscles, brain and spinal chord. The bladder sends a message to the brain to wake up when the bladder is full. A deep sleeper does not respond to the brain's message and the body attempts to contain the urine in the bladder until the person awakes. Typically, where bed-wetting is concerned, the body is not working well enough yet to control the urine. Some children have a smaller than normal bladder, or one that is not yet matured enough to make nighttime bladder control happen regularly. Other children create a higher volume of urine and the bladder is unable to contain it throughout the night. Physical troubles such as diabetes or urinary tract infections can also factor in nocturnal enuresis. Studies have shown there may be a genetic connection to bed-wetting. According to the National Kidney Foundation, a child with one parent who experienced nocturnal enuresis has a 4 in 10 chance of becoming one themself. If both parents were bed wetters raises it to a 7 in 10 chance.
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If your child suffers with enuresis, there is help available. Visit www.OurGoodHealth.org/bedwetting/ and sign-up to receive our weekly newsletter, packed with tips and resources. For more enuresis-related articles, visit the bedwetting section of www.OurGoodHealth.org
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