Sleep and Coping in Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Child psychology
• Sleep science
• Developmental psychology

Background:

• Sleep disturbances in early childhood are linked to mood and anxiety disorders.
• Childhood stress and adverse events can disrupt sleep patterns, including nighttime awakenings and difficulty falling asleep.
• Previous research has explored the independent effects of sleep on adaptive processing and stress on sleep, but the bidirectional relationship between childhood sleep and coping strategies remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the bidirectional relationship between sleep patterns and coping strategies in preschool-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To examine how prior sleep patterns relate to children's coping behaviors during a stressful event.
• To determine if coping skills influence children's sleep during the pandemic.

Main Methods:

• A within-subjects design was employed.
• Actigraphy was used to measure sleep in 16 preschool-aged children (mean age = 56.4 months).
• Sleep patterns and coping behaviors were assessed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering at-home learning.

Main Results:

• Children who woke earlier exhibited more negative emotional expression both before and during the pandemic.
• During the pandemic, children generally slept longer and woke later compared to pre-pandemic periods.
• For children participating in at-home learning, longer sleep duration was associated with reduced negative emotional expression.

Conclusions:

• Childhood sleep behaviors and coping strategies are interconnected.
• This relationship between sleep and coping remains stable even under stressful conditions like a pandemic.
• Understanding this bidirectional link is crucial for supporting children's adaptive functioning during challenging times.