Sleep Problems in Infants Decrease Following Massage Therapy

Infants and toddlers (M age = 1.5 years) with sleep onset problems were given daily massages by their parents for 15 minutes prior to bedtime for one month. Based on parent diaries the massaged versus the control children (who were read bedtime stories) showed fewer sleep delay behaviors and had a shorter latency to sleep onset by the end of the study. Forty-five minute behavior observations by an independent observer also revealed more time awake, alert and active and more positive affect in the massaged children by the end of the study.     

Quality of Life in Obese Youth With and Without Sleep Problems

This study compared quality of life (QOL) and psychosocial functioning of youth who are overweight and obese, with and without sleep troubles. A total of 80 youth (8-17 years) and their parents completed questionnaires assessing child QOL, psychosocial functioning, and sleep during an outpatient Obesity Clinic appointment. Twenty-nine percent of children reported sleep troubles. Youth with sleep troubles reported lower QOL and more internalizing problems than youth without sleep troubles. Longitudinal research with repeated measurement and use of validated measures of sleep is warranted. These preliminary data suggest improved sleep may help increase behavioral and psychosocial functioning in obese youth.     

Sleep Problems among Mothers of Youth Stopped by the Police

Police stops are the most common form of criminal justice exposure in the USA, and are particularly common among urban youth, with 23% of them reporting a stop by the age of 15. While recent work has begun to illuminate the health impacts of police stops for these youth, little is known about the health consequences of youth police contact for the mothers of youth stopped by the police. The current study employs data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a sample of urban, at-risk youth and their families. Multivariate logistic regression models are conducted to examine the link between youth police stops and sleep difficulties among mothers. Additional analyses examine whether the features and consequences of police stops are associated with sleep difficulties among mothers. The findings indicate that mothers with youth who have experienced police stops are more than twice as likely to report both depression- and anxiety-related sleep difficulties compared to their counterparts. Furthermore, stops with certain features—including those characterized by intrusiveness, high trauma, and high stigma—emerged as consistently significant predictors of maternal sleep difficulties. The findings suggest that mothers who are vicariously exposed to police contact via their children are a vulnerable group. Given the non-random distribution of police contact across the population of youth, with police contact concentrated among children of color, the findings suggest that police contact may exacerbate racial inequalities in sleep, which may itself contribute to racial disparities in broader mental and physical health outcomes.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11524-021-00518-1.     

Prevalence and Correlates of Maternal and Infant Sleep Problems in a Low-Income US Sample

Maternal and Child Health Journal - This study examined the prevalence and correlates of maternal and infant sleep problems among low-income families receiving home visiting services. The study...     

Management of Sleep Problems in Pre-School Children: Effects of a Behavioural Programme on Sleep Routines, Maternal Depression and Perceived Control.

The sleep patterns of 31 children aged between 9 months and 3 1/2 years were studied over a period of 3 months during which time a behavioural programme was initiated and evaluated. Measures of the mothers' mental state and of the relative behavioural control the child was perceived to have were also taken. The childrens' sleep showed rapid improvement following the intervention and similar changes were observed in the other measures.     

Oxygen Desaturation in Sleep: Sleep Apnea and COPD

Studies of patients with sleep apnea have led to etiologic differentiation into two major categories: central, in which neurologic defects produce transient interruption of respiratory effort, and obstructive. Relationships to pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale, as well as to COPD, are discussed. Indications for tracheostomy and various medical modalities are reviewed.     

春眠不觉晓

打不起精神,就像游魂似的,即人们常说的春困……机体不能很快地适应外界环境变化而出现了一种生理现象:头晕脑涨,手脚无力,做什么都春眠不觉晓,是唐代大诗人孟浩然的名句。春暖花开,万物萌芽,茁壮生长。由于人的     

哈尔滨市学龄儿童睡眠状况研究

目的 了解哈尔滨市学龄儿童的睡眠状况,分析这一年龄段儿童主要存在的睡眠问题.方法 采用分级整群抽样方法,于2013年10-11月对哈尔滨市4个城区的6所小学、2 903名学龄儿童进行家庭社会环境与睡眠健康的问卷调查.结果 哈尔滨市学龄儿童睡眠时间不足发生率平时为72.1％,周末为41.9％.睡眠问题在学龄儿童中普遍存在,除夜醒问题外,其他类型睡眠问题均有显著的年龄别差异.影响儿童发生睡眠障碍的因素有是否参加补习班、特长班;是否服用影响神经系统的食物、药物;是否经常从事兴奋性活动;抚养人、母亲孕期及产后是否有情绪低落;是否患有食物或药物过敏等.结论 哈尔滨市学龄儿童睡眠时间普遍少,各类睡眠问题的发生率高,儿童睡眠健康问题应得到社会各方面的关心和重视.     

School Connectedness and Chinese Adolescents' Sleep Problems: A Cross‐Lagged Panel Analysis

BACKGROUND

Although previous research indicates an association between school connectedness and adolescents' sleep quality, its causal direction has not been determined. This study used a 2‐wave cross‐lagged panel analysis to explore the likely causal direction between these 2 constructs.

METHODS

Participants were 888 Chinese adolescents (43.80% boys; M_age = 15.55) who provided self‐report data on school connectedness and sleep quality as well as demographic variables at the beginning and the end of a school year.

RESULTS

After controlling for sex and age, we found that sleep problems at the beginning of the school year were a significant and negative predictor of school connectedness at the end of the school year (b₂ = ?.26, SE = .13, β₂ = ?.10, p < .05), but school connectedness at the beginning of the school year did not predict sleep problems at the end of the school year (b₁ = .05, SE = .03, β₁ = .09, p > .05). Separate analyses by sex showed that the above pattern of results was mainly driven by the boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrated that sleep problems could be a risk factor for adolescent boys' school connectedness.

     

睡眠问题中学生注意力及反应控制力的对照研究

目的 初步探讨睡眠问题中学生的反应控制力和持续注意力的特征,为改善中学生的睡眠质量提供参考依据.方法 采用1:1病例对照研究,对27名有睡眠问题的中学生和27名正常中学生进行视听整合连续操作测验(IVA-CPT).结果 睡眠问题中学生视、听觉注意力商数和视觉反应控制商数均显著低于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义(P值均<0.05);睡眠问题中学生听觉反应控制商数低于对照组中学生,但差异无统计学意义(P>0.05).结论 睡眠问题中学生存在较差的反应控制力和持续注意力不足.应加强对睡眠问题中学生的关注,避免影响中学生的正常学习和生活.     

Adolescents' Sleep Behaviors and Perceptions of Sleep

Background:  Sleep duration affects the health of children and adolescents. Shorter sleep durations have been associated with poorer academic performance, unintentional injuries, and obesity in adolescents. This study extends our understanding of how adolescents perceive and deal with their sleep issues.
Methods:  General education classes were randomly selected from a convenience sample of three high schools in the Midwest. Three hundred eighty-four ninth- to twelfth-grade students (57%) completed a self-administered valid and reliable questionnaire on sleep behaviors and perceptions of sleep.
Results:  Most respondents (91.9%) obtained inadequate sleep (≤ 9 hours) on most school nights of the week, with 10% reporting less than 6 hours of sleep each week night. The majority indicated that not getting enough sleep had the following effects on them: being more tired during the day (93.7%), having difficulty paying attention (83.6%), lower grades (60.8%), increase in stress (59.0%), and having difficulty getting along with others (57.7%). Some students reported engaging in harmful behaviors to help them sleep: taking sleeping pills (6.0%), smoking a cigarette to relax (5.7%), and drinking alcohol in the evening (2.9%). Students who received fewer hours of sleep were significantly more likely to report being stressed (p = .02) and were more likely to be overweight (p = .04).
Conclusions:  Inadequate sleep time may be contributing to adolescent health problems such as increased stress and obesity. Findings indicate a need for sleep hygiene education for adolescents and their parents. A long-term solution to chronic sleep deprivation among high school students could include delaying high school start times, such as was done successfully in the Minneapolis Public School District.     

Sleep disturbance in menopause

Sleep problems (i.e., insomnia) affect midlife women as they approach and pass through menopause at rates higher than at most other stages of life. The purpose of this article is to critically review what is known about insomnia (perceived poor sleep) and physiologically assessed sleep, as well as sleep-related disordered breathing (SDB), in women according to menopausal status and the role of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) hormones. Self-report evidence that sleep difficulties are related to the hormonal changes of menopause is mixed. Data from studies in which sleep was physiologically measured reveal that sleep problems appear corequisite with hot flashes and sweats. Results are difficult to compare across studies because of varying methodologies in how sleep quality and patterns were assessed and how age cohorts and menopausal status were defined. The risk of SDB increases with age, although women are less susceptible at any age than men. As with men, snoring, obesity, and high blood pressure are clear risk factors. Some women may be underdiagnosed for SDB, as they have somewhat different symptom manifestations than men. Usually, frank apnea is not as evident. Primary care clinicians should be mindful of the potential for SDB in women who are obese, have high blood pressure, are cognizant of snoring, and report morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness. Improved care will result from consistently incorporating sleep insomnia assessments into practice as a basis for referring to sleep centers as necessary or prescribing sleep-enhancing behavioral and pharmacological treatments.     

Sleep in postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to identify factors that most influence the perception of sleep quality in postmenopausal women. We used the methodological strategy of the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD), which is based on a theoretical framework of social representations theory. We obtained the data by interviewing 22 postmenopausal Brazilian women who were experiencing insomnia. The women gave accounts of their difficulties with sleep; a variety of dimensions were identified within the data. The onset of sleep disorders might have occurred during childhood or in situations considered to be stressful, and were not necessarily associated with menopause. We found that hormonal alterations occurring during menopause, psychosocial factors, and sleep-breathing disorders triggered occasional sleep disturbances during this time of life. Participants were aware of the consequences of sleep deprivation. In addition, inadequate sleep hygiene habits figured prominently as determinants in the persistence of sleep disturbances.