Sleep habits and sleep disturbance in elementary school-aged children

Relatively little is known about sleep habits, sleep disturbances, and the consequences of disordered sleep in school-aged children. This descriptive study examined a variety of common sleep behaviors in a group of 494 elemen tary school children, grades kindergarten through fourth, using a battery o f sleep questionnaires that included parent, teacher, and self-report surve ys. The prevalence of parent-defined sleep problems ranged from 3.7% (Sleep -Disordered Breathing) to 15.1% (Bedtime Resistance), with 37% of the overa ll sample described as having significant sleep problems in at least one sl eep domain. Younger children were more likely than older children to have s leep problems noted by parents (particularly bedtime struggles and night wa kings), as well as by teacher and self-report. Children tended to identify more sleep problems by self-report, particularly sleep-onset delay and nigh t wakings, than did their parents. Overall, approximately 10% of the sample was identified by all three measures as having significant problems with d aytime sleepiness. The results of this study emphasize the importance of sc reening for sleep disorders in this age group in the clinical setting. The need for consensus regarding the use of sleep screening instruments and the definition of "problem" sleep in school-aged children is also discussed.