The effects of improvements of sleep disturbances throughout kindergarten on executive function: A latent change score analysis

Abstract

Executive function (EF) is particularly susceptible to sleep disturbances. The current study examined the association between sleep disturbance and its changes throughout kindergarten and their EF at graduation. Among a sample of 991 children, child sleep disturbances were reported by parents at the entrance (T1; Mage=3.73years), middle (T2; Mage=5.15years), and graduation (T3; Mage=6.18years) of kindergarten. At T3, parents reported on children’s global executive composite, inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning skills. Linear regression models revealed that T1, T2, and T3 sleep disturbances significantly predicted worse T3 EF. Latent change score analysis revealed that, the more children’s sleep improved throughout kindergarten, the better their global executive composite, inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning skills were at graduation. Further, shifting skill is only predicted by T1-T2, but not T2-T3 sleep improvement. Therefore, these findings provided an important empirical foundation for the promising effects of sleep interventions that would promote neurocognitive development.