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Sleep habits and sleep disturbance in elementary school-aged children
Insights
Many school-aged children experience sleep problems, with younger children more affected. Early screening for sleep disorders in children is crucial for identifying issues like daytime sleepiness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Child Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Limited understanding of sleep habits and disturbances in school-aged children.
- Sleep problems can significantly impact a child's development and well-being.
- Existing research often overlooks the nuances of sleep in elementary school populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate common sleep behaviors and disturbances in elementary school children.
- To determine the prevalence of various sleep problems within this age group.
- To explore age-related differences in sleep problems and reporting.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive study of 494 elementary school children (grades K-4).
- Utilized a comprehensive battery of sleep questionnaires.
- Included parent, teacher, and self-report surveys for multi-perspective data collection.
Main Results:
- 37% of children experienced significant sleep problems in at least one domain.
- Prevalence of parent-defined issues ranged from 3.7% (Sleep-Disordered Breathing) to 15.1% (Bedtime Resistance).
- Younger children reported more sleep issues (bedtime struggles, night wakings) across all report types; 10% had significant daytime sleepiness by all measures.
Conclusions:
- Highlights the importance of routine sleep disorder screening in school-aged children.
- Underscores the need for standardized sleep screening tools and consistent definitions of 'problem' sleep.
- Suggests that children may be more aware of their sleep difficulties than parents initially perceive.
Abstract:
Relatively little is known about sleep habits, sleep disturbances, and the consequences of disordered sleep in school-aged children. This descriptive study examined a variety of common sleep behaviors in a group of 494 elementary school children, grades kindergarten through fourth, using a battery of sleep questionnaires that included parent, teacher, and self-report surveys. The prevalence of parent-defined sleep problems ranged from 3.7% (Sleep-Disordered Breathing) to 15.1% (Bedtime Resistance), with 37% of the overall sample described as having significant sleep problems in at least one sleep domain. Younger children were more likely than older children to have sleep problems noted by parents (particularly bedtime struggles and night wakings), as well as by teacher and self-report. Children tended to identify more sleep problems by self-report, particularly sleep-onset delay and night wakings, than did their parents. Overall, approximately 10% of the sample was identified by all three measures as having significant problems with daytime sleepiness. The results of this study emphasize the importance of screening for sleep disorders in this age group in the clinical setting. The need for consensus regarding the use of sleep screening instruments and the definition of "problem" sleep in school-aged children is also discussed.