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Intraindividual variability in sleep patterns and behavioral problems among preschool children: The role of bedtime

Tomoki Nakatani1, Norihisa Tamura1,2

  • 1Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.

Chronobiology International
|June 5, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Consistent sleep patterns are vital for young children's behavior. High variability in bedtime and total sleep time is linked to internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively, impacting overall behavioral health.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Behavioral Science
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Sleep stability is crucial for early childhood development.
  • Variability in sleep patterns can negatively affect behavioral health in young children.
  • Existing research often focuses on average sleep duration, not sleep variability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of intra-individual variability (IIV) in sleep on behavioral issues in children aged 1.5 to 5 years.
  • To determine if sleep IIV affects behavioral problems independently of average sleep duration.
  • To identify specific sleep pattern inconsistencies associated with different types of behavioral problems.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 306 children aged 1.5 to 5 years.
  • Collected sleep data using daily activity logs (measuring bedtime, wake time, total sleep time) and calculated weekly standard deviations for sleep IIV.
  • Assessed behavioral problems using the Child Behavior Checklist 1½-5 and analyzed data with logistic regression, adjusting for confounding factors.

Main Results:

  • Higher intra-individual variability (IIV) in bedtime was significantly associated with increased internalizing behavioral problems.
  • Greater IIV in total sleep time was linked to increased externalizing behavioral problems.
  • Both measures of sleep IIV were associated with overall behavioral problems, independent of average sleep duration.

Conclusions:

  • Consistent sleep-wake rhythms are important for emotional and behavioral stability in early childhood.
  • Addressing sleep IIV, not just average sleep duration, may be a key strategy for supporting healthy behavioral development.
  • Interventions aimed at improving sleep consistency could benefit children's behavioral health outcomes.

Keywords:
CBCLSleepbehavioral problemschildexternalizing problemsinternalizing problemsintraindividual variability

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