Children and Sleep: Management, Health Effects and Gender Differences

Children and Sleep: Management, Health Effects and Gender Differences begins by delineating the measurement tools currently available to evaluate sleep problems in children and adolescents: polysomnography, actigraphy, sleep diaries, and questionnaires. Continuing, this collection unpacks the complexities of the most common sleep disorders affecting children and adolescents by discussing the child-specific features, etiology, common comorbidities, and differential diagnostic considerations pertinent for each disorder. The authors summarize the importance of a healthy sleep cycle in normal brain development during childhood and the effects of sleep disturbances on normal brain function and brain structure. Additionally, possible associations between sleep disturbances in children and emotional/behavioral problems are addressed, based on a suggestion that these symptoms are not the emerging manifestations of an underlying disorder but rather are a network of symptoms that are causally interrelated. In closing, the authors highlight the importance of identifying the causes of mouth breathing and obstructive sleep apnea in children. If left untreated, such breathing disorders can progress to more severe conditions in adulthood.