twitching in sleep

[melissa316]

my 22 month old for the past two nights has been twitching ever 5 to 20 seconds or so while asleep.. Sometimes it's his leg, or arm, or whole body twitch.(It's very subtle but he was sleeping with me since he just got over being sick and it kept me awake.)  He is easily roused and doesn't seem distubed by these twitches. He does not do this when he is awake and is developing normally otherwise. (I'm an early childhood special ed teacher so I'm an accurate reporter. :) )   I twitch in my sleep and my older son (5) twitched as an infant and sleep walks. I am just wondering if this sounds like a sleep distubance or perhaps seizures. My dr tends to be an alarmist and I do not want to put my son through an EEG or other tests unless deemed necessary. I don't want to ignore a problem though. Should I perhaps watch him for a few more nights and see if it decreases? Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Kimmike]

My 21 month old daughter just reciently started getting tremors while she sleeps. It starts before she is asleep just as she gets sleepy and you can feel her body relaxing. She starts to randomly twitch all over(legs, arms, sholder, ect.). Most are mild though constant but every once and a while there is a big one that will scare her and wakes her up. I don't know if they last all night, but I held her for a 2 hour nap and she did it the entire time. I am really worried there is something serious going on does anyone have any information or advise. I have a appointment on Monday for her with her ped. should certain testing be demanded? She seems perfect other than this. Please update me on your child.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello Melissa.

It is nice to know that you are keeping a good track of your son's development.

Have you noticed if the twitching is in the initial parts of his sleep and when he is about to wake up ?

In all probability, this is normal. You need not worry. The reason why I am asking you about the timing of the twitching is that such twitching is described in literature.

You may keep a watch and see if he gets a sound sleep.

All the best.

PS - Do you specialize in Learning Disabilities ?

[Sam888]

That's typically normal....you twitch during REM sleep.