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Sleep disorders and starting time to school impair balance in 5-year-old children

Cristiane Aparecida Moran1, Luciane B C Carvalho, Lucila B F Prado

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Arquivos De Neuro-Psiquiatria
|September 21, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children with sleep disorders may experience impaired motor skills, particularly boys attending morning school sessions. This highlights a potential interaction between sleep health and academic timing on early childhood development.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Sleep disorders are increasingly recognized as a potential factor affecting child development.
  • The timing of school start times may influence children's overall well-being and performance.
  • Motor skills are crucial for various aspects of childhood development and learning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of sleep disorders on the motor skills of 5-year-old children.
  • To examine whether different school start times exacerbate motor skill deficits in children with sleep disorders.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 132 children with diagnosed sleep disorders and 136 healthy controls.
  • Sleep disorder diagnosis was based on a parental questionnaire.
  • Standardized motor tests assessed global motor coordination, fine motor skills, perceptual-motor coordination, and static/dynamic balance.

Main Results:

  • Children with sleep disorders studying in the morning showed significantly poorer performance in static balance tests.
  • Specifically, 34% of boys with sleep disorders in morning classes failed the sharpened Romberg (Tandem) test.
  • Furthermore, 62% of these boys struggled with the single leg stance test, indicating balance impairments.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep disorders appear to negatively affect motor performance in young children.
  • The interaction between sleep disorders and morning school schedules may particularly impair motor skills in boys.
  • These findings underscore the importance of addressing sleep health in early childhood education settings.
Abstract

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