RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NOCTURNAL ACTIVITY, PARENTAL RATINGS OF DAYTIMEACTIVITY AND MEASURES FROM THE CHILDRENS SLEEP BEHAVIOR SCALE

Nocturnal activity levels of 40 elementary school children were monito red from midnight to six AM over two consecutive nights in their own h omes. The frequency of sleep related behaviours based upon retrospecti ve parental ratings was assessed by the Children's Sleep Behaviour Sca le (CSBS). The most important finding of the study was that, as predic ted, children who were rated high on sleep behaviours with an observab le motor component were also more active during the night, based on ob jective measurement. This provides a measure of validation for the mot or sub-scale of the CSBS. Nocturnal activity was also associated with another sleep score derived from the CSBS which included items with po sitive affective content such as laughing and smiling while asleep. Ch ildren who showed bedtime resistance behaviours and complained of diff iculty going to sleep were not more active during the night. Gender, a ge and parental perception of daytime activity levels obtained with th e Middle Childhood Temperament Scale were not related to objective mea sures of nocturnal activity.