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Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
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Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

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Sleep as a Developmental Process: A Systematic Review of Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Outcomes in Children

Adriana Félix1, Adelinda Candeias1

  • 1School of Health and Human Development, Comprehensive Health Research Centre, Universidade de Évora, 7000-812 Évora, Portugal.

Clocks & Sleep
|November 24, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Good sleep is vital for children's development, improving cognition and behavior. This review highlights sleep's role in mitigating risks from screen time and stress, emphasizing its potential for early interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Sleep Science
  • Environmental Health

Background:

  • Sleep is crucial for cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physical development in children.
  • Environmental factors like screen time and stress significantly impact child sleep.
  • Understanding sleep's role in development is key for identifying modifiable risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review recent empirical findings on the associations between sleep (duration, quality, patterns) and developmental outcomes in children aged 6-12 years.
  • To synthesize evidence from cross-sectional and cohort studies published between 2019 and 2024.
  • To evaluate the methodological quality of included studies.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search across EBSCO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.
  • Inclusion of cross-sectional and cohort studies focusing on children aged 6-12 years (2019-2024).
  • Quality assessment using Joanna Briggs Institute tools.

Main Results:

  • Consistent associations found between better sleep and enhanced cognitive performance, emotional well-being, and fewer behavioral problems.
  • Sleep acts as a mediator between screen use and behavioral issues, with gender and socioeconomic status as moderators.
  • Correlational evidence suggests sleep is a potentially modifiable factor influencing developmental outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Improved sleep is linked to better developmental outcomes in children.
  • Sleep interventions may mitigate negative effects of environmental risks like screen exposure.
  • Future research needs longitudinal, objective measures for causal insights and targeted interventions.

Keywords:
behavioral problemschild developmentcognitive outcomesdigital mediaemotional outcomesphysical healthscreen timesleepsleep durationsleep quality

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