In the past it was assumed that between infancy and adulthood, sleep needs followed a fairly smooth progression toward the adult norm. While, one way or another, small babies generally manage to take the sleep they need, adult sleep disorders have been increasingly recognized. Researchers have begun to wonder if sleep disorders are impacting children and adolescents as well, and if so whether it is in the same way as adults.
[...] The three articles cited here show that a child deprived of the necessary quality and quantity of sleep is undernourished just as a child deprived of appropriate quality and quantities of food. Both are essential ingredients to human growth and development, and for the maintenance of the development that has already taken place. Disturbed sleep can cause accidents, poor academic performance and is even associated with depression. Clearly more research is needed to tease out cause from effect and to trace the changes in [...]
[...] These articles show that sleep needs vary both among individuals and across the life span within individuals (Garcia and Wills, 2000). There are different issues that effect children at different stages, and their families may seek the help of a social worker for some of these issues not realizing that sleep is a base cause of the difficulty. This exercise emphasizes the need for social workers to be sensitive to the culture of their clients, for example around the subject of co-sleeping. [...]
[...] It was noted that before making the last two diagnoses children need to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea and other causes of daytime sleepiness. This article made note of others in the literature that connect sleep disturbance with poor academic performance. Another empirical, quantitative study looked for possible links between “Television-viewing Habits and Sleep Disturbance in School Children” (Owens, Maxim, McGuinn, Nobile, Msall, Alario, 1999). These authors found that television viewing in general is detrimental to good sleep hygiene if only in that it reduces physical activity and may displace sleep time. [...]
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