The old proverb says: if you snooze you lose. But if truth be told, the opposite is also true. Studies confirm what parents have known for ages: children who get insufficient amounts of sleep tend to lose. Just how much these children lose becomes increasingly apparent as the experts delve deeper into the mysteries and wonders of sleep.

San Antonio’s sleep expert is Dr. Kelly J. Smith, the current president of the Children’s Asthma, Sleep and Pulmonary Institute. Smith, with his impressive knowledge of medical practice, is an unassuming man with one over-riding passion: to help his patients breathe easier, sleep better and have an improved quality of life.

Smith, a Texas native, has had an impressive education. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas in 1996 and his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 2000. He ventured out of his home state to complete his internship and residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, where he remained from 2000 until 2004. It was there that he spent his final year serving as chief resident of the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics program.

In 2004, Smith returned to Texas to complete a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Texas Children’s Hospital and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he remained until 2007. And, as if that were not enough, he pursued additional training and research in sleep medicine at the Texas Children’s Sleep Center from 2005 through 2007.

Somewhere in the midst of all that intensive training, Smith managed to woo a fellow medical student, and became a happily married man and father to two children. He and his wife, an allergist and rheumatologist, Dr. Kristin Bussey-Smith, have a boisterous five-year-old son named Jackson and a delightful two-year-old daughter named Madeleine.

Smith and Bussey-Smith specialize in two medical fields that are closely linked. According to Smith, many breathing problems can stem from allergies, and one of the leading causes of sleeplessness is sleep apnea, a fairly common problem in children that can hinder their brain development and cause problems later in life. Parents may not know their children have sleep apnea unless they sleep in the same room with their children. However, many children who have undiagnosed sleep apnea may display symptoms of restlessness and inattentiveness. These are children who get sufficient amounts of sleep, but still complain of fatigue. They cannot focus on tasks like they should.

However, Smith says that in most cases, sleep apnea should be ruled out as a cause.

“When we do a sleep study for the child,” says Smith, “the parents and the child are given a room that is furnished as nicely as any hotel room, and through body monitors, we can see how well a patient sleeps. Once the test results are in, we can make a diagnosis and move on from there.”

Although Smith treats children, he is one of the few pediatric pulmonary doctors in Texas who can treat adults as well. Although he works well with people of all ages, he says treating children is completely different from treating adults.

Smith realizes that in order to help children, the parents need to understand the problem(s) and the possible solutions.

“We teach our children how to bathe, how to comb their hair and how to dress, but often we don’t teach them how to sleep,” says Smith. “Given that we spend one third of our lives sleeping, learning to sleep well is important for adults and is especially important for children.”

As such, Smith encourages parents to model good sleeping habits and help their children change any bad habits they may have acquired.

“It is a good idea to get the child into a bedtime routine,” says Smith. “If possible, remove distractions from their bedroom, things like TVs and video games, so that when the child goes to bed, it is with the intention of going to sleep, not to play. Little things like that can really help a child.”

Smith and his fellow sleep specialists are also seeing evidence of how weight affects sleep. With excess weight, neck tissues and muscles may be adversely affected, which can lead to breathing difficulties during sleep.

Sleep apnea is often a result of obesity. It is especially important to detect sleep apnea in childhood early. “We have recently learned that even very mild degrees of sleep apnea can have significant adverse effects on cognitive function and school performance,” says Smith. “Children are learning at a rapid pace every day. Not sleeping well at night and not being able to function optimally during the day can have significant effects on a child’s life.”

Smith is passionate about helping people. He wants to get to know each one of his patients well, to work with them in an effort to improve their breathing and their sleep and ultimately, to improve their quality of life. With this passion and his gentle demeanor, it is easy to see why Smith has already made a name for himself since he opened his doors earlier in 2007.