TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Sleep of preschool children with night-time fears
JO  - Sleep Medicine
A1  - Kushnir, Jonathan
A1  - Sadeh, Avi
SP  - 870
EP  - 874
VL  - 12
IS  - 9
N2  - BACKGROUND: Night-time fears are very common in preschool and early school years. However, to date, the links between night-time fears and sleep have not been assessed systematically. The aim of this study was to evaluate natural sleep patterns in children with night-time fears, and to assess the association between parental fear-related strategies and children's sleep disruptions. METHODS: Sleep was assessed in a sample of 109 preschool children (64 boys and 45 girls) aged 4-6years suffering from significant night-time fears, and in 30 healthy controls using actigraphy and parental reports. RESULTS: Controls slept significantly better than the children with night-time fears. The disrupted sleep patterns of the children with night-time fears were reflected in a higher number of actigraphic night wakings, shorter periods of continuous sleep, shorter true sleep time, and a lower percentage of actual sleep time. Similar findings were manifested in sleep measures reported by the parents. Parental fear-management strategies were found to be linked to impaired actigraphic sleep measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Children with night-time fears are at risk for developing poor sleep quality, which may further compromise their psychological well-being.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1389-9457
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2011.03.022
ID  - ref1
ER  -