Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
100
Does Impaired Sleep in Children Cause Mental Health Problems in Children? (#2 of 2)
October 10, 2022

Found in age groups

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night's Sleep

Buy now

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
Chapter 1 (only 16 pages!) outlines everything you need to know about your child's sleep.

Buy now

Introduction

A Healthy Child Needs a Healthy Brain, A Healthy Brain Needs Healthy Sleep

If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.

Blog 100Does Impaired Sleep in Children Cause Mental Health Problems in Children? (#2 of 2)

I reviewed the literature to answer this question and found 35 relevant published studies. Here are my conclusions with some examples of the studies.

Conclusions

4. Some studies show a dose-response relationship: The worse the sleep issue, the greater the mental health problem. Blog Posts 7578.

  • Among 315 children, 2-6 years, they were followed over 15 months. Night sleep duration at baseline predicted changes in measurements in hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, peer relationships, and prosocial behavior.

The shorter the night sleep duration, the more mental health problems occurred. Also, this study showed that measurements of emotional and behavioral problems at baseline did not predict sleep durations 15 months later. Additionally, this study suggests that when parents help their children sleep better it might prevent the development of mental health problems because: Compared with children who decreased or had no change in night sleep duration over the 15-month observation period, those children who increased their night sleep duration had a concurrent decrease in measurements of hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, better peer relationships, and more prosocial behaviors. This study suggests that when parents help their child sleep better future potential difficulties can be prevented.

  • Children with nonregular bedtimes at ages 3, 5, and 7 years had more behavioral difficulties at 7 years.

The effect of nonregular bedtimes was cumulative-the more years of nonregular bedtimes, the worse the behavior. However, when children changed from nonregular to regular bedtimes, they showed improvements in their behavior. This study suggests that when parents help their child sleep better future potential behavioral difficulties can be prevented.

5. A few studies suggest that sleep disruptions at an early age interferes with brain maturational processes that later might be associated with mental health problems. Blog Posts 5051 and 7273.

  • Children with more sleep problems at 2 years had smaller brain grey matter volumes and thinner prefrontal cortex at 7 years.  
  • Children with more sleep problems at 1.5, 2, and 5 years had less brain white mater microstructure integrity at 10 years.

Add comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related blogs

These blogs are related or mentioned in this blog.
50
Blog 50
  | October 25, 2021
 | 1 Comment

Speculation: Does Chronic and Severe Unhealthy Sleep in Childhood Cause Brain Damage? (1 of 2)

When a growing child does not receive enough quality sleep, might this be severe enough to produce brain damage, either reversible or persistent?
Read full post
51
Blog 51
  | November 1, 2021
 | No Comments

51. Speculation: Does Chronic and Severe Unhealthy Sleep in Childhood Cause Brain Damage? (2 of 2)

Sleep loss adversely effects pineal melatonin production which causes disturbance of circadian physiology of cells, organs, neurochemicals, neuroprotective and other metabolic functions. The most convincing evidence for permanent damage resulting from sleep loss comes from cellular studies in which animal experiments are indispensable.
Read full post
72
Blog 72
  | March 28, 2022
 | No Comments

Brain Damage and Unhealthy Sleep: Apparent versus Hidden Harm (#1)

The focus is on brain health because the brain is the only organ in the body that has a requirement for sleep. But unfortunately, brain health is an unappreciated public health concern.
Read full post
73
Blog 73
  | April 4, 2022
 | No Comments

Brain Damage and Unhealthy Sleep: Apparent versus Hidden Harm (#2)

Although we can precisely measure how much iron and calcium is needed for children, at different ages, to stay healthy, unfortunately, we do not have similar measurements for sleep duration or sleep quality.
Read full post
75
Blog 75
  | April 18, 2022
 | No Comments

More Sleep, Fewer Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) “include poor social interaction, abnormal cognitive functioning, delayed school readiness and problems in later childhood, and persistent mental health problems and obesity in adulthood.”
Read full post
76
Blog 76
  | April 25, 2022
 | No Comments

More Sleep Problems in Children, More Mental Health Problems in Teens

A 2021 study examined sleep-wake problems at age 9 years.  Sleep-wake problems occurred in some children who answered affirmatively that they frequently “had an extremely hard time falling asleep”, “fallen asleep in a morning class”, “slept in past noon”, and/or ‘stayed up all night”. 
Read full post
77
Blog 77
  | May 2, 2022
 | No Comments

Real World Parenting and Parental Presence at Bedtime

A study by Professor Mindell noted that parental presence at sleep onset is much more common in Asian than English-speaking countries. “Parental presence in the room at bedtime was the most potent predictor in explaining the number of night wakings, longest sleep interval, and total sleep time.”
Read full post
78
Blog 78
  | May 9, 2022
 | No Comments

Real World Parenting and Consistency

In the real world of parenting, ignore artificial expectations that suggest that you should always do something or never do something.  Instead, focus on how often you behave a certain way. 
Read full post

Stay updated with new blog posts

Get access to free lullabies when signing up!
Get notified when new blogs are posted
Loading
Notify me
About Marc
The first month
The second month
Months 3-4
Months 4-12
magnifiercrossarrow-left
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram