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Sleep problems in children

How common are sleep problems in children?

Many babies and young children have sleep problems. They mostly find it hard to settle down, or wake up often at night.

More than 20 in 100 children up to age 5 have a sleep problem. Many children still have disturbed sleep until they're much older.

Source:
Salzarulo P, Chevalier A.
Sleep problems in children and their relationships with early disturbances of the waking-sleeping rhythms.
Sleep. 1983; 6: 47-51.

But it's hard to know for certain how many children really have a sleep problem that needs treatment. Sleep habits and what people think is normal vary a lot.

Source:
Mindell JA.
Sleep disorders in children.
Health Psychology. 1993: 12; 151-162.

Source:
Tynjala J, Kannas L, Valimaa R.
How young Europeans sleep.
Health Education and Research. 1993: 8; 69-80.

Source:
Dollinger SJ.
On the varieties of childhood sleep disturbance.
Journal of Clinical Child Psychology. 1982; 11: 107-115.

⁴

Source:
Jenkins S, Bax M, Hart H.
Behaviour problems in preschool children.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1980; 21: 5-17.

⁵ Here's what the research shows.

About 25 in 100 toddlers have problems settling down or wake up at night.

Source:
Richman N, Graham J.
A behaviour screening questionnaire for use with three year old children.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1971; 12: 5-33.

⁶
Many teens also get sleep problems. They're more likely to have sleep timing problems. This means they find it hard to go to sleep and then they have problems getting up in the morning for school.
About 14 in 100 children have nightmares and night terrors. Almost 10 in 100 children sleepwalk.

Source:
Stores G.
Practitioner review: assessment and treatment of sleep disorders in children and adolescents.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1996; 37: 907-925.

⁷
About 20 in 100 children have sleep-related breathing problems, such as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing for a moment and wake up.

Source:
Carroll JL, McColley SA, Marcus CL, et al.
Inability of clinical history to distinguish primary snoring from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.
Chest. 1995; 108: 610-618.

⁸
Some people have an illness that makes them keep falling asleep, even during the day. It's called narcolepsy. People with narcolepsy usually first get symptoms between ages 10 to 20. About 6 in 10,000 people have narcolepsy.

Source:
Stores G.
Recognition and management of narcolepsy.
Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1999; 81: 519-524.

⁹

Sleep disorders are much more common in children with physical or learning disabilities, especially at younger ages. Among children with disabilities, severe sleep problems happen in:

Source:
Quine L.
Severity of sleep problems in children with severe learning difficulties: description and correlates.
Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. 1992; 2: 247-268.

¹⁰

Almost 90 in 100 children up to age 6
Around 80 in 100 children ages 6 to 11
More than 75 in 100 children ages 12 to 16.

Sources for the information on this page:

Salzarulo P, Chevalier A.Sleep problems in children and their relationships with early disturbances of the waking-sleeping rhythms.Sleep. 1983; 6: 47-51.

Mindell JA.Sleep disorders in children.Health Psychology. 1993: 12; 151-162.

Tynjala J, Kannas L, Valimaa R.How young Europeans sleep.Health Education and Research. 1993: 8; 69-80.

Dollinger SJ.On the varieties of childhood sleep disturbance.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology. 1982; 11: 107-115.

Jenkins S, Bax M, Hart H.Behaviour problems in preschool children.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1980; 21: 5-17.

Richman N, Graham J.A behaviour screening questionnaire for use with three year old children.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1971; 12: 5-33.

Stores G.Practitioner review: assessment and treatment of sleep disorders in children and adolescents.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1996; 37: 907-925.

Carroll JL, McColley SA, Marcus CL, et al.Inability of clinical history to distinguish primary snoring from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.Chest. 1995; 108: 610-618.

Stores G.Recognition and management of narcolepsy.Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1999; 81: 519-524.

Quine L.Severity of sleep problems in children with severe learning difficulties: description and correlates.Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. 1992; 2: 247-268.

This information was last updated on May 12, 2009

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