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[Headaches in childhood: association with sleep disorders and psychological implications]

P Smeyers1

  • 1Sección de Neuropediatría, Hospital Infantil Universitario La Fe, Valencia, España. patsmeyers@redestb.es

Revista De Neurologia
|April 25, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Children with chronic headaches experience significant sleep disturbances, including shorter sleep duration, poor sleep hygiene, and increased prevalence of parasomnias like sleepwalking and enuresis. This highlights a clear association between pediatric headache and sleep disorders.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Sleep Medicine

Context:

  • Infantile headache is a growing concern impacting children's quality of life.
  • Sleep disorders, particularly parasomnias, are more prevalent in infancy.

Purpose:

  • To investigate the relationship between chronic headache and sleep patterns in children.
  • To compare sleep characteristics in children with and without chronic headaches.

Summary:

  • A study of 224 children (ages 3-15) compared 97 with chronic headaches to 27 healthy controls using sleep questionnaires.
  • Children with chronic headaches exhibited statistically significant reductions in sleep duration, poorer sleep hygiene, and higher rates of insomnia, nocturnal awakenings, parasomnias (somnambulism, somniloquy, enuresis), and nocturnal snoring.

Impact:

  • Establishes a significant association between chronic headache and various sleep disorders in children.
  • Suggests potential for sleep interventions in managing pediatric chronic headaches.
Abstract

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