Abstract
To assess the links between sleep and pubertal development using a longitudinal design. Three consecutive annual assessments of sleep and pubertal development. Sleep was assessed using a week of home actigraphy. Naturalistic sleep in the home setting of school children, Tel Aviv Area, Israel. A sample of 94 (41 boys) typically developing healthy school-age children (age range at first assessment: 9.9-11.2 years). N/A. The Petersen's Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) and Sexual Maturation Scale (SMS) were used to assess pubertal development, and a week of actigraphy served to assess naturalistic sleep patterns. The results reflect expected developmental trends: an increase in signs of pubertal maturation, delayed sleep onset, and shorter sleep time. After controlling for age, significant relationships were found between sleep onset time, true sleep time, and number of night wakings at Time 1 and pubertal ratings at Time 2, and pubertal changes from Time 1 to Time 2. Delayed and disrupted sleep at Time 1 predicted faster pubertal changes from Time 1 to Time 2. These results were supported by structural equation modeling. These findings were similar in boys and girls. Based on these longitudinal data, it appears that pubertal changes in sleep (delayed sleep phase and disrupted sleep patterns) antedate bodily changes associated with puberty. The underlying mechanisms explaining these predictive links should be further explored.
Highlights
This myriad of interrelated changes in early adolescence raises a series of questions about the neurobehavioral underpinnings that impact normal development and the increased vulnerability to clinical disorders that emerges in adolescence, and the potential role for sleep to influence healthy and unhealthy trajectories of development Recent studies have shown that the onset of adolescence is associated with unique aspects of brain development.[11,12,13,14,15] For instance, it has been shown in MRI studies, that around the expected age of the onset of puberty, the volume of gray matter in the frontal and parietal lobes reaches a peak and starts decreasing thereafter.[14]
The main changes in sleep-wake organization can be briefly summarized as follows: (a) a delayed sleep phase, which is associated with the onset of puberty[7,8,11]; (b) shorter sleep, which is associated with increased levels of daytime sleepiness[7,11,26,27]; (c) a steep decrease in delta NREM sleep, which is associated with increased sleepiness[19,20,21,22,23]; (d) greater tolerance for sleep deprivation or extended wakefulness with maturation[6,24]; and (e) development of irregular sleep patterns among many adolescents, with irregular sleep patterns.[7,9,25]
*All correlations are significant at P < 0.0001 except for r = 0.29, P < 0.05 opment over time (β = 0.45, P < 0.005), but not vice versa. These findings emerged even after controlling for participants’ sex and age. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first longitudinal study focusing on sleep and puberty that employed objective sleep measures obtained in natural home environments amidst the social complexities of adolescents’ real lives
Summary
This myriad of interrelated changes in early adolescence raises a series of questions about the neurobehavioral underpinnings that impact normal development and the increased vulnerability to clinical disorders that emerges in adolescence, and the potential role for sleep to influence healthy and unhealthy trajectories of development Recent studies have shown that the onset of adolescence is associated with unique aspects of brain development.[11,12,13,14,15] For instance, it has been shown in MRI studies, that around the expected age of the onset of puberty, the volume of gray matter in the frontal and parietal lobes reaches a peak and starts decreasing thereafter.[14] Studies of affective function show puberty-specific changes in neural systems involved in social and emotional processes.[19,20,21,22] Evidence for puberty-specific changes in affective function have implications for understanding how brain/behavior/social These are high-stakes questions with relevance to a broad range of clinical and social policy issues affecting adolescent health. The purpose of the present study was to explore the links between sleep and puberty, using a longitudinal design and objective sleep measures in natural settings
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