A systematic review of treatment of settling problems and night waking in young children

Objective To assess the efficacy of treatment of settling problems and nigh t waking in young children. Design A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of interventions . Setting Electronic bibliographic databases and references on identified pap ers, hand searches, and personal contact with specialists. Subjects Children aged 5 years or younger who had established settling prob lems or night waking. Interventions Interventions had to be described and a placebo, waiting list , or another intervention needed to have been used as a comparison. Interve ntions comprised drug trials or nondrug trials. Main outcome measures Number of wakes at night, time to settle, or number o f nights in which these problems occurred. Results Drugs seemed to be effective in treating night waking in the short term, but long-term efficacy was questionable. In contrast, specific behavi oral interventions showed both short-term efficacy and possible longer term effects for dealing with settling problems and nigh waking. Conclusions Given the prevalence and persistence of childhood sleep problem s and the effects they can have on children and families, treatments that o ffer long-lasting benefits are more appealing, and these are likely to be b ehavioral interventions.