Sleep Behaviors In Children Research Articles

Associations between abnormal sleep behavior and indoor environmental risk factors among children with a chronic cough in Wuxi, China: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundIndoor environmental factors, such as pet ownership, presence of cockroaches, mattress quality, fuel usage (gas or electricity), use of biomass for cooking and heating, exposure to tobacco smoke or household molds can significantly affect the sleep quality of children with chronic cough. However, data regarding the effects of indoor environmental conditions on sleep in this population are limited. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of abnormal sleep behaviors and to establish associations between indoor environmental factors and sleep behaviors among children with chronic cough in Wuxi, China.MethodsA cross-sectional design was employed in this study, involving children aged 3–18 years. Data on sociodemographic factors, allergies, home environmental exposures, and sleep characteristics of the participants were collected using paper-based questionnaires. The association between indoor environmental factors and sleep behaviors in children with chronic cough was analyzed using logistic regression models.ResultsThe findings demonstrated that the prevalence of chronic cough among children in Wuxi was 15.50%. The chronic cough group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of eczema, wheezing, rhinitis, food allergy, and nasosinusitis than the non-chronic cough group. In addition, children with chronic cough also tended to have a family history of sleep disorders and adenoid hypertrophy (P < 0.01). After adjusting for confounding factors, a significant association was observed between bruxism (teeth grinding) and chronic cough (sometimes: odds ratio [OR] = 1.04; confidence interval [CI] = 1.01–1.08; always: OR = 1.11; CI = 1.04–1.19; P < 0.01). Among children with chronic cough, recent home decoration was associated with sleepwalking (OR = 1.04; CI = 1.00–1.07; P < 0.05), mold exposure was associated with bruxism (OR = 1.15; CI = 1.0–1.31; P < 0.05), and carpet use at home was associated with apnea (OR = 1.09; CI = 1.02–1.17; P < 0.05), twitching during sleep (OR = 1.13; CI = 1.00–1.27; P < 0.01) and morning headache (OR = 1.14; CI = 1.05–1.23; P < 0.01).ConclusionChildren with chronic cough are more prone to some abnormal sleep behaviors than children without chronic cough. Household decoration within a year, household mold exposure, and carpet use were all significantly positively associated with abnormal sleep behaviors in children with chronic cough. Our study provides novel insights into the impact of the indoor environment on children’s sleep and the occurrence of chronic cough, offering guidance for tailored health promotion programs for families.

Sleep correlates of behavior functioning in Cornelia de Lange syndrome.

Pathogenic variants in the cohesin genes, NIPBL and SMC1A, both cause Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), a rare genetic disorder associated with developmental delay and intellectual disability. This study aimed to compare sleep behaviors across individuals with CdLS caused by a variant in NIPBL or SMC1A, and identify relationships between sleep and behavior functioning. A total of 31 caregivers of individuals with a variant in NIPBL (N = 22) or SMC1A (N = 9) completed questionnaires regarding their child's sleep behaviors, behavior regulation, attention, and autistic features (repetitive behaviors and social communication difficulties) as part of the Coordination of Rare Diseases (CoRDS) registry. Findings showed a trend of increased behavior regulation difficulties and repetitive behaviors in the NIPBL compared to the SMC1A participants. Both groups presented with a similar degree of attention, social communication, and sleep challenges. In the whole sample, sleep disturbance was strongly correlated with more behavior regulation difficulties, a relationship that was more robust in the NIPBL sample. In brief, study results support our prior observations of greater behavior difficulties among those with a variant in NIPBL as compared to SMC1A. Preliminary findings point to unique associations between sleep and behavior regulation in the NIPBL group, suggesting sleep interventions may yield differential effects on behavior management across variants.

Parental and Child Sleep: Children with Vision Impairment, Autistic Children, and Children with Comorbid Vision Impairment and Autism.

Parents report associations between children's sleep disturbances and behaviors. Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., Williams Syndrome and autism) are consistently reported to experience increased sleeping problems. Sleep in children with vision impairment and children with a dual diagnosis of vision impairment and autism remains understudied. Our exploratory study compared sleep profiles in 52 children (aged 4-12 years) and their parents (n = 37), across four groups: children with vision impairment (VI; n = 9), autism (n = 10), comorbid vision impairment + autism (n = 6), and typically developing children (n = 27). Childhood sleep was measured using the parental report Childhood Sleep Habits Questionnaire and sleep diaries. Children's cognitive functioning was measured using digit span, semantic, and phonemic verbal fluency measures. Parental sleep was measured via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Clinically disordered sleep was reported in all child groups (p ≤ 0.001), particularly children with VI + autism. Age, not sleep quality/quantity, predicted cognitive task performance in TD and autistic groups, but not in VI and VI + autism groups. The child's diagnosis affected parental sleep, particularly in children with a dual diagnosis of VI + autism. All participants experienced problematic sleep to varying degrees. Those most affected were children and parents in the VI + autism group, suggesting that autism may be the main driver of sleep problems in our sample.

Effects of Forest Activities on Sleep and Problematic Behaviors in Young Children

Background and objective: This study aims to determine the effects of forest activities, such as forest meditation and forest experience, on young children's sleep and problematic behaviors and to compare the changes that occur according to the type of forest activity.Methods: Fifty-nine five-year-old children from early childhood education institutions in Cheongju City, Korea, participated. The experiment took place over five weeks between May 3 and 31, 2022. Activities were conducted twice a week for a total of eight sessions. The forest meditation and forest experience groups carried out activities in the forest. The control group carried out thematic activities according to the Nuri curriculum followed by early childhood education institutions. The Korean version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used to assess the participants' sleep duration and sleep habits, and the Korean Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5-5 was used to assess problematic behaviors.Results: We found a statistically significant increase in the average sleep duration of the children in the meditation group, as well as a statistically significant decrease in their total sleep habits score and the scores of the bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and sleep anxiety subdomains of sleep habits. A statistically significant decrease was observed in the forest experience group's scores for total problematic behaviors and internalizing problems. We also found a statistically significant positive correlation between sleep habits and problematic behaviors.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that static activities, such as forest meditation activities, increase sleep duration and improve sleep habits, while dynamic activities, such as forest experience activities, improve problematic behaviors and internalizing problems. Providing specific programs that appropriately utilize static and dynamic forest activities can help improve sleep and problematic behaviors in young children.

Parents, preschoolers, and napping: the development and psychometric properties of two Nap Belief Scales in two independent samples

IntroductionMost children cease napping between 2 and 5 years old. Little is known about the predictors of this cessation. Parents' sleep-related beliefs aid in understanding children's nighttime sleep behaviors, but few index daytime sleep beliefs.MethodsTwo measures of parents' napping beliefs were developed and evaluated-the Parents' Nap Beliefs Scale (14 items) and the Reasons Children Nap Scale (19 items). Canadian parents of 1–5-year-old children completed these questionnaires and other sleep-related measures in independent pilot (n = 201) and replication (n = 702) samples. In the replication sample, a subsample of parents also completed 1–3 weeks of daily sleep diaries. The samples were representative of the Canadian population by ethnicity and region.ResultsIn both samples, both measures demonstrated strong construct validity, convergent and divergent validity, and internal consistency. The Parents' Nap Beliefs Scale was composed of two factors: (a) Positive Beliefs and (b) Negative Beliefs about napping. The Reasons Children Nap Scale was composed of two higher order factors and five lower order factors: (a) Encouragement Reasons (Child related; Parent related) and (b) Discouragement Reasons (Child prefers not to nap; Child functions well without a nap; Scheduling).DiscussionFuture research should (a) test these scales as longitudinal determinants of children's nap behavior and cessation, (b) evaluate parental Nap Beliefs in non-Western cultures, and (c) adapt these scales for use with childcare providers.

The effects of service dogs for children with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers: a cross-sectional study.

Service dogs are an increasingly popular complementary intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, despite increasing demand, there remains a lack of empirical research on their potential benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of service dogs on children with autism and their caregivers. A total of N = 75 families of children with autism were recruited from a non-profit service dog provider in the US, including n = 39 families previously placed with a service dog and n = 36 families engaging in usual care while on the waitlist. Caregivers completed an online survey containing both self- and proxy-report standardized measures of child, caregiver, and family functioning. Linear regressions modeled the relationship between service dog presence and survey outcomes, controlling for relevant child and caregiver covariates. Results indicated that having a service dog was associated with significantly better child sleep behaviors, including better sleep initiation and duration and less sleep anxiety/co-sleeping with medium effect sizes. However, service dog presence was not significantly related to child withdrawal, negative emotionality, emotional self-control, hyperactivity, irritability, and lethargy with small effect sizes. For caregivers, having a service dog was not significantly related to standardized measures of caregiver strain, sleep disturbance, depression, or the impact of the child's condition on family functioning with small effect sizes. Supplemental matched case-control analyses confirmed these findings. In conclusion, service dogs were found to positively impact sleep behaviors among children with autism, but may not uniformly relate to other areas of child and caregiver wellbeing. Prospective longitudinal designs, larger sample sizes able to detect small effects, and studies that measure sleep using objective methods are needed to build on these findings.

Effect of Anti-Allergic Therapy on Sleep Quality of Children with Allergic Conjunctivitis and Their Parents

ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the effect of anti-allergic therapy on sleep quality of children with allergic conjunctivitis (AC) and their parents. Methods This prospective single-arm intervention study included 54 AC child-parent dyads. Chinese versions of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to assess the sleep quality of children and their parents, respectively. Results CSHQ and PSQI total scores were significantly decreased after treatment, with fewer children and parents reporting poor sleep quality. Part impaired sleep behaviors of children and parents can recover to the normal levels. Sleep quality improved greater in children with a severe type of AC, those with worse baseline signs, and without other allergic diseases. For both children and parents, greater improvements in sleep quality were associated with longer treatment duration and with worse baseline sleep quality. Conclusion Successful management of AC improves sleep quality for both children and their parents.

Infants’ and Young Children’s Sleep Behavior During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: Theoretical background: Sleep is a vital factor in early development. Altered child sleep behavior has been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Sharma et al., 2021 ). Objective: We describe young children’s sleep behavior during the lockdown. Method: Caregivers of children aged 0 to 47 months ( N = 2001) living in Germany completed an online survey during the first lockdown. We then compared aspects of children’s sleep and their caregivers’ mental well-being health before and during the lockdown. We explored the factors predicting changes in time spent awake at night, a central aspect of sleep quality. Results: Overall, caregiver-reported sleep was negatively affected. Some predictors of changes in time spent awake at night differed between infants (aged 0 – 12 months) and toddlers (aged 13 – 47 months). Discussion and conclusion: Infants’ and toddlers’ sleeping behavior was differently affected during the lockdown. Age-related differences in factors predicting changes in time spent awake at night highlight the need for developmentally sensitive sleep interventions.

Sleep as a protective factor of children's executive functions: A study during COVID-19 confinement.

Confinements due to the COVID-19 outbreak affected sleep and mental health of adults, adolescents and children. Already preschool children experienced acutely worsened sleep, yet the possible resulting effects on executive functions remain unexplored. Longitudinally, sleep quality predicts later behavioral-cognitive outcomes. Accordingly, we propose children's sleep behavior as essential for healthy cognitive development. By using the COVID-19 confinement as an observational-experimental intervention, we tested whether worsened children's sleep affects executive functions outcomes 6 months downstream. We hypothesized that acutely increased night awakenings and sleep latency relate to reduced later executive functions. With an online survey during the acute confinement phase we analyzed sleep behavior in 45 children (36-72 months). A first survey referred to the (retrospective) time before and (acute) situation during confinement, and a follow-up survey assessed executive functions 6 months later (6 months retrospectively). Indeed, acutely increased nighttime awakenings related to reduced inhibition at FOLLOW-UP. Associations were specific to the confinement-induced sleep-change and not the sleep behavior before confinement. These findings highlight that specifically acute changes of children's nighttime sleep during sensitive periods are associated with behavioral outcome consequences. This aligns with observations in animals that inducing poor sleep during developmental periods affects later brain function.

Optimizing the Nutritional Status of Elementary School-Age Children Through Family Counseling About Children's Sleep Quality: a Literature Review

Sleep quality can be interpreted as a person's satisfaction in his sleep, good sleep quality can make the person feel fresh and fit when he wakes up. Sleep disorders in elementary school children aged 7-11 years in Indonesia as much as 65.3% in 2020. Long term, lack of sleep can cause obesity, depression, and fatigue. Imbalanced nutrition and poor sleep quality lead to inhibition of appetite regulation. Parents have an important role in setting a child's sleep schedule, behavior, and activities. The research design this study was a traditional literature review. The selection of articles in this study used PRISMA Flowchart. Articles searched using search engines (SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, and Google Scholar). Family counseling about the quality of children's sleep can affect the fulfillment of nutritional status. Children's nutritional status is influenced by several factors, such as children's sleep quality, children's physical activity, and children's eating patterns. These three elements must be met so that the nutritional status of children does not decrease and children become overweight or obese. Counseling that can be done is like a "healthy family routine" where it contains the child's sleep hours according to the child's age, the benefits of sleep for children, and parents recognize sleep problems in children, such as external factors (crowd, bed comfort, and noise pollution).

Applicability of Actigraphy for Assessing Sleep Behaviour in Children with Palliative Care Needs Benchmarked against the Gold Standard Polysomnography

In children with life-limiting conditions and severe neurological impairment receiving pediatric palliative care (PPC), the degree to which actigraphy generates meaningful sleep data is uncertain. Benchmarked against the gold standard polysomnography (PSG), the applicability of actigraphy in this complex population was to be assessed. An actigraph was placed on N = 8 PPC patients during one-night polysomnography measurement in a pediatric tertiary care hospital's sleep laboratory. Patient characteristics, sleep phase data, and respiratory abnormalities are presented descriptively. Bland-Altman plots evaluated actigraphy's validity regarding sleep onset, sleep offset, wake after sleep onset (WASO), number of wake phases, total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency compared to PSG. PSG revealed that children spent most of their time in sleep stage 2 (46.6%) and most frequently showed central apnea (28.7%) and irregular hypopnea (14.5%). Bland-Altman plots showed that actigraphy and PSG gave similar findings for sleep onset, sleep offset, wake after sleep onset (WASO), total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency. Actigraphy slightly overestimated TST and sleep efficiency while underestimating all other parameters. Generally, the Actiwatch 2 low and medium sensitivity levels showed the best approximation to the PSG values. Actigraphy seems to be a promising method for detecting sleep problems in severely ill children.

Exploring the Effects of Swimming on Sleep Behaviors of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Single-Subject Design

Evidence suggests physical activity (PA) improves sleep of typical children but benefits for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are not established. We examined the effects of PA, particularly swimming, on the sleep behaviors of three children with ASD using objective and parent-report measures. Children participated in eight weeks of a specialized swim program. Parents completed sleep and behavior measures at the beginning and end of the eight-week program. Parents also completed a sleep log for one week while their child slept on a sleep sensor. Results showed variable response to the Sensory Enhanced Aquatics intervention. One child’s sleep and behavior were stable and/or improved, one child’s outcomes were variable, and one child’s sleep worsened. The sleep sensor revealed children fell asleep more quickly after swimming, but increased times out of bed for one child. Recreational therapists should use caution when recommending physical activity to improve sleep with this population and carefully monitor outcomes.

PENGARUH KONSELING SLEEP HYGIENE DALAM MENINGKATKAN KUALITAS TIDUR ANAK USIA 3-24 BULAN

Sleep problems in childhood have been found to be associated with memory and learning impairments, irritability, difficulties in mood modulation, attention and behavioral problems, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Short sleep duration has been found to be associated with overweight and obesity. This research describes the protocol of a behavioral intervention planned to promote healthier sleep in infants. Methods: The study is a 1:1 parallel group single-blinded randomized controlled trial enrolling a total of 24 infants at 3-24 months of age. The main eligibility criterion is the infant’s sleep lasting on average less than 15 h per 24 h (daytime and nighttime sleep). The main outcome assessed is the between group difference in average nighttime self-regulated sleep duration (the maximum amount of time the child stays asleep or awake without awakening the parents), at ages 6, 12 and 24 months, evaluated by means of activity diary records and questionnaires. Result: The negative impact of inadequate and insufficient sleep on children’s physical and mental health are unquestionable, as well as its impact on cognitive function, academic performance and behavior. It is hoped that this study will demonstrate a beneficial effect on children's sleep behavior.

Sleep problems in infancy and early school age in very preterm infants

BackgroundSleep plays an important role for psychological and physical health, especially in infants at high risk for long-term neurodevelopmental impairment such as preterm infants. ObjectiveOur study aimed at determining risk factors for long-term sleep impairment in very-preterm (VPT; <32 weeks of gestation) infants. MethodsSleep problems were analyzed in an observational study in infants of the German Neonatal Network born between January 1st 2009 and December 31st 2014. Parental questionnaires of n = 2928 VPT children were evaluated regarding the child's sleep behavior at five years of age. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors for delayed sleep onset and hyperactivity/inattention (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire). In a second cohort of n = 342 VPT infants, sleep habits were evaluated at toddlers age via the Infant Sleep Questionnaire. ResultsIn our cohorts, 424/2928 (14.5 %) preterm children were diagnosed with delayed sleep onset at early school age while 57/342 (16.7 %) had sleep impairment in early infancy. Gestational age was not independently associated with sleep problems (i.e., early school age: OR 0.97, 95 % CI 0.9–1.1, p = 0.15). Notably, in both our cohorts, neonatal exposure to analgesics and sedatives was associated with a higher risk for sleep problems, i.e., early school age: exposure to sedatives: OR 1.31, 95%CI 1.02–1.7, p = 0.03. Sleep problems and drug exposure were both associated with hyperactivity/inattention. ConclusionSleep problems of VPT children are unrelated to gestational age which suggests rather individual risk factors. The significant neonatal exposure to analgesics and sedatives may contribute to long-term sleep impairment.

The development of a scale to assess children's and adolescents' sleep environments.

To develop a measure of children's sleep environments and to assess its initial reliability and validity. This cross-sectional study consisted of an online survey for parents of children ages 5-18 years across the United States. A total of 840 parents/caregivers (Mage = 40.6 years, standard deviation = 8.6; 72.0% female) completed surveys regarding a target child (Mage = 10.4 years, standard deviation = 3.8). The items on the scale that was developed were evaluated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in separate random sample halves of the dataset. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated to assess internal consistency across multiple demographic groups. We explored convergent and discriminant validity by examining associations with measures from the nomological net of constructs surrounding the children's sleep environment. Finally, we examined incremental/unique predictive validity of the full scale and its subscales through regression analyses. The Children's and Adolescents' Sleep Environment Scale (13 items) produced 3 factors: general environmental hazards (7 items), availability of bedding materials (2 items), and presence of electronics (4 items). The full scale and its subscales showed strong discriminant validity, and analyses suggested that the Children's and Adolescents' Sleep Environment Scale and its subscales were generalizable across diverse demographic groups. Finally, after controlling for children's sleep hygiene, sleep disturbances, behavioral problems, and family functioning, the full-scale Children's and Adolescents' Sleep Environment Scale significantly predicted children's sleepiness, as did the general environmental hazards and presence of electronics subscales in a separate regression analysis. The Children's and Adolescents' Sleep Environment Scale shows strong psychometric properties and has emerged as both a reliable and valid indicator of children's and adolescents' sleep environments and their potential impact on children's sleep and sleep-related behavior. Peltz JS, Rogge RD, Elmore-Staton L, Spilsbury J, Buckhalt JA. The development of a scale to assess children's and adolescents' sleep environments. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(10):2353-2365.

Meeting families where they sleep: a collaborative approach to improving sleep health for urban children.

Meeting families where they sleep: a collaborative approach to improving sleep health for urban children.

Sleep behavior of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder during the Covid-19 pandemic: A Parent survey.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by social interaction and communication deficits and restricted, repetitive interests and behaviors (1). It is very common for children with ASD to present with several comorbidities, including sleep disorders. During the Covid-19 pandemic, children with ASD have been particularly at risk of adverse effects because of their difficulties in adapting to changes in daily habits and routines. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate sleep habits during the Covid-19 pandemic by administering the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) to parents. Twenty-five children of 28 (89.3%) had a score above 41 during the pandemic. Of these, 11 children also had clinically signifi-cant scores before the pandemic. Our data confirm that sleep disturbances have been very common in autistic children during the Covid-19 pandemic and suggest new considerations. In particular, in our clinical sample, sleep habits seemed to improve or not change significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic in a population with a high prevalence of cli-nically significant sleep disturbances. These data confirm that in this particular context, a supportive environment (family, parent training, tele-rehabilitation) is very important for autistic people and a predicta-ble routine can help prevent stress, anxiety, and behavioral problems.

Effect of allergic rhinitis on sleep in children and the risk factors of an indoor environment.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an independent risk factor for sleep disorders in children, including abnormal sleep behaviors. We investigated the occurrence of abnormal sleep behaviors in children with AR to determine indoor environmental risk factors affecting sleep. This case-control study collected the sleep status and characteristics of the indoor environment of children aged 3-14 yearswith and without AR using a questionnaire. The differences between the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. The indoor environmental factors affecting sleep behavior were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Children with AR(n=427) had a higher probability of snoring (8.7 % vs. 2.9 %; P < 0.001), mouth breathing (14.1 % vs. 5.2 %; P < 0.001), restless sleep (6.6 % vs. 4.1 %; P = 0.047), sleep talking (3.3 % vs. 1.1 %; P = 0.003), and hyperhidrosis (16.4 % vs. 8.5 %; P < 0.001) than those without AR (n=1046). Emulsion wall paint (odds ratio (OR) = 2.779; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.332-5.796; P = 0.006) and tobacco exposure in early infancy (OR = 2.065; 95 % CI 1.079-3.950; P = 0.029) were associated with hyperhidrosis. Children with AR are more likely to have abnormal sleep behaviors than those without, including snoring, mouth breathing, restless sleep, sleep talking, and hyperhidrosis. Emulsion paint wall and tobacco smoke exposure in early infancy had a twofold higher risk of hyperhidrosis during sleep.

Associations of 12‐year sleep behaviour trajectories from childhood to adolescence with myopia and ocular biometry during young adulthood

AbstractPurposeCross‐sectional studies have variably reported that poor sleep quality may be associated with myopia in children. Longitudinal data, collected over the ages when myopia develops and progresses, could provide new insights into the sleep‐myopia paradigm. This study tested the hypothesis that 12‐year trajectories of sleep behaviour from childhood to adolescence is associated with myopia during young adulthood.MethodsAt the 5‐, 8‐, 10‐, 14‐ and 17‐year follow‐ups of the longitudinal Raine Study, which has been following a cohort since their birth in 1989–1992, participants' parents/guardians completed the Child Behaviour Checklist questionnaire (CBCL), which collected information on their child's sleep behaviour and quality. The CBCL includes six questions measuring sleep behaviour, which parents rated as 0 = not true, 1 = somewhat/sometimes true, or 2 = very/often true. Scores were summed at each follow‐up to form a composite “sleep behaviour score”. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) was used to classify participants according to their 12‐year trajectory of sleep behaviour. At the 20‐year follow‐up, an eye examination was performed which included cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length measurement.ResultsThe LCGA identified three clusters of participants based on their trajectory of sleep behaviour: those with minimal' (43.6% of the total Raine Study sample), ‘declining’ (48.9%), or ‘persistent’ (7.5%) sleep problems. A total of 1194 participants had ophthalmic data and longitudinal sleep data available for analysis (47.2% female, 85.6% Caucasian). No significant differences were observed in regards to age, sex, ethnicity or ocular parameters between trajectory groups. Unadjusted and fully adjusted analyses demonstrated that sleep problem behaviour was not significantly associated with changes in refractive error, axial length or corneal radius.ConclusionsOur findings do not support the hypothesis that there is an association between sleep behaviour and myopia. Future longitudinal studies should explore sleep trajectory data pre‐ and post‐myopia diagnosis to confirm our results.

P157 Modelling the developmental trajectory of infant and child sleep

Abstract Introduction Sleep is important for infant and child neurodevelopment, yet there is a lack of mechanistic understanding of what drives the changes in sleep over the early years of life. While sleep in the adult brain has been studied and modelled extensively, very little has been done in infants and children, mainly limited to descriptive studies of sleep behaviour. Methods We adapted an existing, physiologically based model of adult sleep to study infant and child sleep behaviour. We compared modelled sleep behaviour to published data on sleep characteristics over a range of ages, both cross sectional from 0 to 5 years and densely-sampled individual data in the first year of life. We performed Bayesian inference to estimate the likely physiological parameters underpinning population-level diversity in sleep characteristics as a function of age from 0 to 5 years. We also fitted the model to individual sleep architecture in the first year of life. Results The empirically observed decrease in total sleep duration and consolidation of sleep bouts with increasing age are well explained by decreases in the constant inhibitory input to the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus and increases in the characteristic somnogen clearance time during sleep. Further, our model produced realistic sleep-wake dynamics consistent with early maturation of sleep in the heavily sampled, single infant data. Discussion Our results show that a greater understanding of the neurophysiology of sleep in infants and children can be achieved through the use of physiologically based models.