The relationship between sleep problems and working memory in children born very preterm.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Children born very preterm (gestation < 32 weeks) often exhibit cognitive deficits.
• Sleep disturbances are common in this population, but their impact on cognition is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between sleep and working memory in very preterm children.
• To explore potential mechanisms, including executive functioning, linking sleep problems to cognitive outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Study 1: Assessed sleep quality, snoring, and daytime sleepiness in 89 very preterm children (6-7 years) alongside working memory, processing speed, and storage capacity.
• Study 2: Directly measured executive functioning in 43 very preterm children and 48 term-born controls (6-9 years), assessing parent-reported sleep problems.

Main Results:

• Study 1 found night-time sleep quality, but not snoring or sleepiness, associated with verbal working memory, suggesting an impact on executive components.
• Study 2 revealed problematic sleep adversely affected executive functioning in very preterm children, but not in term-born controls.

Conclusions:

• Poor sleep quality negatively impacts working memory and executive functioning in children born very preterm.
• Executive dysfunction may be a mechanism through which sleep problems exacerbate cognitive vulnerabilities in this group.
• Targeting sleep problems could be a strategy to improve cognitive outcomes for very preterm children.