Sleep is one of the most important factors contributing to mental health. It is estimated that approximately 25%-50% of children have problems with sleep1. A lack of sleep can impact children’s mood (e.g., feeling grumpy), and can lead to hyperactivity and symptoms that appear like ADHD2. Poor sleep in childhood may also contribute to problems with the immune system3, anxiety and depression4, and health problems5-6. Therefore, it’s important to help support children with attaining longer and better-quality sleep.
If your child is between the ages of 1-10 years old and you live in Canada, you may be eligible to participate in a large study to test out a program for parents of children who experience sleeping problems (e.g., difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early).
Check out the web-link below to learn more about the study and to apply to participate!
To learn more about strategies to help with sleep, this website is another fantastic resource:
https://keltymentalhealth.ca/sleeping-well
1Bhargava, S. (2011). Diagnosis and management of common sleep problems in children. Pediatrics in Review-Elk Grove, 32(3), 91.https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.32-3-91
2Knight, F., & Dimitriou, D. (2019). Poor Sleep Has Negative Implications for Children With and Without ADHD, but in Different Ways. Behavioral sleep medicine, 17(4), 423–436.https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2017.1395335
3Kim, J., Gozal, D., Bhattacharjee, R., & Kheirandish-Gozal, L. (2013). TREM-1 and pentraxin-3 plasma levels and their association with obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, and endothelial function in children. Sleep, 36(6), 923–931. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.2726
4Hochadel, J., Frölich, J., Wiater, A., Lehmkuhl, G., & Fricke-Oerkermann, L. (2014). Prevalence of sleep problems and relationship between sleep problems and school refusal behavior in school-aged children in children’s and parents’ ratings. Psychopathology, 47(2), 119–126.https://doi.org/10.1159/000345403
5Dutil, C., & Chaput, J. P. (2017). Inadequate sleep as a contributor to type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Nutrition & diabetes, 7(5), e266. https://doi.org/10.1038/nutd.2017.19
6Sparano, S., Lauria, F., Ahrens, W., Fraterman, A., Thumann, B., Iacoviello, L., Marild, S., Michels, N., Molnar, D., Moreno, L. A., Tornaritis, M., Veidebaum, T., & Siani, A. (2019). Sleep duration and blood pressure in children: Analysis of the pan-European IDEFICS cohort. Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.), 21(5), 572–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.13520