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The sleep habits and sleep disorders in children with headache

M Zarowski1, J Młodzikowska-Albrecht, B Steinborn

  • 1Chair and Department of Developmental Neurology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland. zarowski@amp.edu.pl

Advances in Medical Sciences
|January 31, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children with headaches exhibit different sleep habits and a higher prevalence of sleep disorders, including snoring and nightmares, compared to their peers without headaches.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Child Health

Background:

  • Headaches are common in children and adolescents.
  • Sleep disturbances can significantly impact a child's well-being and development.
  • Understanding the relationship between sleep and headaches in pediatric populations is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare sleep habits between children with headaches and a control group.
  • To identify the prevalence of various sleep disorders in children experiencing headaches.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving 300 children with headaches (headache group, HG) and 284 children without headaches (control group, CG).
  • Data collected on sleep habits, including co-sleeping, parental presence during sleep onset, screen time, bedtime routines, and daytime naps.
  • Assessment of sleep disorder symptoms such as parasomnias (sleep talking, bruxism, leg movements, sleep terrors, nightmares) and sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, breathing pauses).

Main Results:

  • Children in the HG showed significant differences in sleep habits, including more co-sleeping and less parental involvement at sleep onset compared to the CG.
  • Higher frequencies of daytime naps and screen-related activities (watching TV, listening to radio) before sleep were observed in the HG.
  • The prevalence of several sleep disorders was notably higher in the HG, including sleep talking (48.3% vs 38.7%), bruxism (23.3% vs 16.5%), nightmares (16.7% vs 7.4%), snoring (27.3% vs 19.0%), and breathing pauses (5.7% vs 1.4%).

Conclusions:

  • Sleep habits in children with headaches differ substantially from those without headaches.
  • Children experiencing headaches have a greater prevalence of sleep disorder symptoms, including snoring, sleep talking, bruxism, sleep terrors, nightmares, breathing pauses, and night awakenings.
Abstract

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