Sleep disorders in children in connection with later psychosocial and academic functions
Sleep disorders in children in connection with later psychosocial and academic functions
Regardless of whether children have persistent sleep problems from birth to childhood or only develop sleep problems at the beginning of school, a new study by researchers from the Philadelphia (Chop) children's hospital has found that sleep disorders at any age are associated with reduced well -being, in which children are 10 or 11 years old. The results published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry suggest that health service providers should examine children at any age for sleep problems and intervene early when a sleep problem is found.
sleep disorders at any age are associated with reduced well -being when children are 10 or 11 years old
"Our study shows that people with persistent sleep problems have the greatest impairments in relation to the general well -being of children, but also people with mild sleep problems suffer from some psychosocial impairments over time," said Dr. Ariel A. Williamson, psychologist to the sleeping center and faculty member at Policylab and the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effect in Chop. "The spectrum of impairments in academic and psychosocial areas in middle childhood shows that it is important to consistently search for sleep problems in the course of the development of a child, especially to address children who occur over time."
data comes from an Australian birth cohort with more than 5,000 patients
The researchers examined data from an Australian birth cohort with more than 5,000 patients. Nurses reported whether their children had sleep problems at several times from birth to the age of 10 or 11 years. In order to evaluate the well -being of children that included psychosocial measures such as self -control and measures to measure emotional / behavioral health and academic performance, the researchers used a combination of reports and teachers as well as teachers completed by children.
The researchers found five different sleeping problems
When analyzing the sleep behavior registered by the caregiver, the researchers found five different sleep problem processes or patterns that characterized the sleep problems of children over time: persistent sleep problems up to medium childhood (7.7%), limited sleep problems in infants / preschool children (9.0%) took sleep problems in medium -sized childhood (17.0%), slight sleep problems over time (14.4%) and no sleep problems (51.9%).
With the exception of their perception skills Children with increased sleep problems in middle childhood also had larger psychosocial problems and a poorer quality of life, but did not achieve any lower results in academic achievements. Children with restricted sleep problems in infants / preschool children or slight increases in sleep problems over time also showed psychosocial impairments and had a poorer quality of life that was given by the nurse, but the effects were lower than in the other sleeping courses.The researchers indicate the possibility that the relationship for certain trajectories could be bidirectional
While the researchers found impairments in relation to all trajectories of sleep problems, they find the possibility that the relationship can be bidirectional for certain trajectories - that is, psychosocial problems such as fear can lead to sleep problems and vice versa, especially in children who develop sleep problems later in childhood.
"Although this study cannot answer whether minor, early or persistent sleep problems are a marker for the use of behavioral health or neurological developmental disorders, our results support the consistent integration of questions about sleep into routine development investigations at school and in basic care," said Williamson.