Sleep in Children and Adolescents with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders

Abstract

The interface between sleep problems and psychiatric disorders represents an extremely important dimension of child and adolescent mental health. This article concentrates on two primary areas: sleep and emotional disorders (where the largest number of studies have been conducted), and sleep in behavioral disorders (focusing on attention disorders and clinical problems with aggression). This is followed by a brief consideration of sleep in several other psychiatric disorders. Also described is a multicomponent behavioral treatment aimed at improving sleep and sleep-wake schedules in children and adolescents, and the rationale and relevance of this intervention to a wide range of youth with sleep problems and affective or behavioral symptoms that might be attributable to (or exacerbated by) insufficient sleep is provided. The interface between sleep problems and psychiatric disorders represents an extremely important dimension of child and adolescent mental health. This article concentrates on two primary areas: sleep and emotional disorders (where the largest number of studies have been conducted), and sleep in behavioral disorders (focusing on attention disorders and clinical problems with aggression). This is followed by a brief consideration of sleep in several other psychiatric disorders. Also described is a multicomponent behavioral treatment aimed at improving sleep and sleep-wake schedules in children and adolescents, and the rationale and relevance of this intervention to a wide range of youth with sleep problems and affective or behavioral symptoms that might be attributable to (or exacerbated by) insufficient sleep is provided.