Sleep Problems in Children Persist during their Early Developmental Years

Most of the parents believe that if their child is not sleeping properly during his infant years, the problem will pass off spontaneously as he grows up. Even the pediatricians do not take sleep problems in infants seriously. This, despite the fact, that sleep problems have been linked to other morbidities. The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular problems is much documented. Moreover, the disturbed sleep of infant also affects the sleep of his parents, taking a toll on their marital as well as professional life. Researchers of a new study, published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics, have found that the disturbed pattern of sleep in an infant does not rectify spontaneously as the child grows up. It persists in the early developmental years of the child and may be associated with other systemic illnesses.

The researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, led by Dr. Kelly Byars, examined the sleep problems seen in children during the first three years of life. The researchers studied the extent of these problems, their pattern and duration based on questionnaires filled up by the parents. The parents were asked specific questions regarding the sleeping habits of 359 children when they were 6, 12, 24 and 36 months old. The parents had to answer questions pertaining to eight different aspects of sleep like 24 hour sleep duration, daytime sleeping habits, nightmares, snoring, sleep maintenance, etc.

The researchers were amazed to find out that one in every ten children suffered from some type of sleep problem. Almost 21 of every hundred children continued to suffer from these problems even when they were three years old. While the most common sleep related problem when the children were 6 to 24 months old were night waking and short duration of sleep, as the child grew up, the pattern of sleep problems changed. The most common sleep related problems in children between the ages of 24 to 36 months were nightmares and restlessness while sleeping. Therefore, the researchers have opined that sleep problems during early infancy should also be given due importance by the pediatricians.

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