Dr. Michel Alkhalil is a physician board-certified in Sleep Medicine and Allergy & Immunology and the Medical Director of AAIRS Clinic and Troy Sleep Center, which serves patients in Oakland and Macomb counties. His sleep medicine fellowship training encompassed both pediatric and adult populations.
Sleep disorders affect people at every stage of life, but they do not always look the same from one age group to the next. This article explains how sleep concerns can differ between children and adults, and why training across both populations matters in sleep medicine. Comparing these differences helps explain why a clinician considers a patient’s age alongside the symptoms reported during evaluation.
The sleep medicine fellowship completed by Dr. Michel Alkhalil took place at Drexel University College of Medicine, Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. The training covered both pediatric and adult patients.
Fellowship training is the stage at which physicians develop focused expertise in a specialty after residency. Training that includes both children and adults provides experience with how sleep disorders appear, and how they are evaluated, across a wide age range. The pediatric and adult components connect specialty knowledge with the different circumstances in which patients and families describe sleep concerns.
How Sleep Disorders Can Present in Children
Sleep problems in children are not always recognized as sleep problems. A child who sleeps poorly may not appear tired in the way an adult would. Instead, the effects may show up as changes in behavior, mood, attention or school performance.
Because children may not describe their symptoms clearly, parents and caregivers often provide much of the information used in evaluation. Observations about snoring, restless sleep, bedtime routines and daytime behavior can all be relevant. These observations help place the concern in the context of the child’s usual routines and changes noticed by the family.
Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Children
Sleep-disordered breathing, including obstructive sleep apnea, can occur in children as well as adults. In children, enlarged tonsils and adenoids are a common contributing factor. Snoring, pauses in breathing and restless sleep are among the signs that may prompt evaluation.
The presentation can differ from that seen in adults. Daytime symptoms in children may include hyperactivity or difficulty concentrating rather than obvious sleepiness.
Sleep Concerns Common in Adults
The adult sleep training completed by Michel Alkhalil covers conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and hypersomnia. In adults, these conditions often present through daytime sleepiness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating or concerns raised by a bed partner.
Contributing factors in adults can differ from those in children. Age, weight, other medical conditions and medications may all influence sleep and breathing during sleep. Considering those factors alongside the reported symptoms helps establish the broader clinical circumstances surrounding an adult’s sleep concern.
Insomnia and Hypersomnia
Insomnia involves persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early despite an adequate opportunity for sleep. Hypersomnia describes excessive sleepiness during waking hours. Both can affect daily function, and both call for careful evaluation to identify contributing factors.
These conditions can have downstream health consequences. Diagnosis and treatment are therefore central to sleep medicine across all age groups.
Why Age Shapes Sleep Evaluation
The sleep medicine training of Dr. Michel Alkhalil reflects the fact that evaluation must be adapted to the patient. Normal sleep patterns change significantly from childhood through adulthood, and what is typical at one age may signal a concern at another.
Questions asked during evaluation, the information gathered from family members and the interpretation of findings can all differ by age. Experience with both populations supports a more complete understanding of these differences. Age provides context for the assessment, while the patient’s own history and circumstances guide the consideration of individual symptoms.
Families and Sleep Health
Sleep concerns sometimes affect more than one member of a household. Awareness of how sleep disorders appear in both children and adults can help families recognize when a concern may warrant attention, whatever the age of the person affected. A family discussion can bring together observations about nighttime sleep and daytime functioning that may be useful to describe during a clinical visit.
A Lifespan Perspective Within an Accredited Practice
AAIRS Clinic and Troy Sleep Center under Dr. Michel Alkhalil provide sleep services accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), reflecting adherence to established clinical standards in sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment. The practice also offers allergy and pulmonology services, which support coordinated evaluation when sleep concerns involve breathing or allergic conditions.
For patients in Oakland and Macomb counties, these elements bring together specialist training in sleep medicine, accredited standards and related services within a single practice. Anyone with concerns about their own sleep, or a family member’s, should discuss them with a qualified physician.
About Dr. Michel Alkhalil
Dr. Michel Alkhalil’s sleep, allergy and pulmonology practice serves patients in Oakland and Macomb counties through AAIRS Clinic and Troy Sleep Center, where he is Medical Director. He is board-certified in Sleep Medicine and Allergy & Immunology. He completed residency training at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital and sleep medicine fellowship training covering pediatric and adult populations at Drexel University College of Medicine, Hahnemann University Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. He completed his Allergy & Immunology fellowship at the University of South Florida and has received multiple Top Doc recognitions, including Hour Detroit’s Top Docs list.
