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Wet Beds and Sound Sleepers
What's the Connection? By Lyn Mettler
First, you need to understand that controlling urination is a complex process. It involves nerves, muscles, the spinal cord and the brain all working together. The bladder sends the brain a message when it's full that it's time to go to the bathroom, but if the person is asleep or not ready yet, the brain must keep the bladder from emptying. Sometimes, kids' bodies just don't have all of these pieces working in harmony quite yet.
"They just take a little longer to mature into this fully aware state so the brain can sense that they're getting full," says Dr. Kaskel.
Some children simply produce more urine or have a smaller bladder and in a small number of cases, a medical problem such as a kidney infection, diabetes or a blocked bladder can be to blame.
Bedwetting is also genetic. According to the National Kidney Foundation, if both parents were bedwetters, a child has a seven in 10 chance of wetting the bed. If one parent wet the bed as a child, then there is a four in 10 chance their children will do the same. Boys are also twice as likely as girls to wet the bed, according to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse, though experts do not know why.
For Brian, the cards just may be stacked against him, considering he's a deep sleeper, a boy and his mother says she also wet the bed as a child.
Bedwetting also may accompany parasomnia, an arousal disorder where children may sleepwalk and have nightmares and night terrors. Arousal disorders occur when a child has difficulty coming out of a deep sleep before reaching the rapid eye movement (REM) or "dream" stage of sleep.