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Children with insomnia likely to continue to suffer as adults, study finds

By Kate Rafferty|

A new study has found that children with insomnia, or who display symptoms of insomnia, are more likely to continue to suffer from sleep problems as adults.

Published in the journal, Pediatrics, and led by scientists at Penn State College of Medicine, this is the first long-term study to track the development of insomnia symptoms from childhood to young adulthood.

Over the course of 15 to 20 years, scientists analysed the sleeping habits of a random sample of about 500 children, who they first studied in the year 2000.

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Father with sick daughter in bed. Sick girl in bed. Sick young girl.
The study found that school-aged children with insomnia symptoms were more likely to experience sleeping problems in young adulthood. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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At the time of the first sample, the school-aged children, aged between five to 12 years, and their parents provided reports of theirs or their children's insomnia symptoms. According to the study, there were then defined as "moderate-to-severe difficulties in initiating and/or maintaining sleep."

As well as these personal reports, the children participated in an objective in-laboratory sleep study to identify sleep apnea and other indicators of insomnia. Just over seven years later, 502 of the sampled children were studied again as adolescents; the median age was 16-years-old.

Another eight or so years later that sample of children was studied again, now as young adults, with the median age at 24-years-old.

From the collected results, the team of scientists found that 43 per cent of children with insomnia symptoms continued to suffer through adolescence and into adulthood.

About 27 per cent of children with insomnia symptoms experienced remission of symptoms by adolescence, and close to 19 per cent experienced a waxing and waning pattern into adulthood.

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Toddler girl asleep in bed
Of the 502 children studied, 43 per cent with insomnia symptoms continued to suffer through adolescence and into adulthood (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For children without insomnia symptoms, 21 per cent newly developed them in young adulthood.

Speaking on the findings, Penn State's Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Health Julio Fernandez-Mendoza said: "The key finding of this study is that insomnia symptoms in childhood are much more likely to persist over time than we previously believed.

"Those with insomnia symptoms and laboratory-measured short sleep duration are much more likely to evolve to develop a clinical condition in early adulthood, and not just to persist with the symptoms.

"So, parents and clinicians should not assume that insomnia symptoms are benign complaints that will go away with age."

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In response to the "fresh off the press" study, Associate Professor Dr Sandy Hopper, who is also the Chief Medical Officer of KidsDocOnCall, says the study is "quite an achievement" but does have some flaws.

"It's quite hard to study the same group of people longitudinally over time, so they've done a terrific job with that in mind," says Dr Hopper.

"What it doesn't tell us, is how and why there is a link here. It doesn't tell us if it's about the child's make-up กช something intrinsic, something their born with, is it due to anxiety? Or some behavioural issues? Or is it about sleep-tracking and habits?"

What can be deduced is that the study is moving past regular infant and toddler-aged sleep issues, and zeroing in on older children, Dr Hopper says.

Close up of adorable kid laying down on the bed by holding smartphone at night. Photo of Little kid in bed under a blanket looking at the smartphone at night. Happy smiling baby boy laying on his tummy on the bed under a blanket and plays on a smartphone in a game in the dark. The child's face is illuminated by a bright monitor.
Dr Hopper advises no stimuli or screens an hour before bed. (Getty)

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In terms of trying to assist these parents and kids, Dr Hopper says there are some standard sleep practices every family should put in place.

"For a child under 12, we want a calm, consisent and predictable preparation for sleep," he says.

Dr Hopper's advice for a healthy sleep set-up for children

  • Avoidance of stimuli, particularly screens at least an hour before sleep.
  • Avoidance of caffeine, including chocolate in the afternoon
  • Good daytime exercise, and sunlight exposure during the day กช as Dr Hopper puts it, "kids need sunlight in the eyeballs and exercise in the body during the day".
  • A cool, dark, quiet bedroom
  • Create a 20-minute winding down routine for children before entering bed
  • A set bedtime

As part of your child's 20-minute wind-down routine, Dr Hopper advises regular, light practices like a warm bath, brushing teeth, changing into pyjamas and reading or being read to.

Dr Hopper's final tip is for "night time worries" your child might have about sleep, or the next day.

"It's best to address these nighttime worries during the day, rather than at bedtime. It's much more productive to solve them during the day than it is when your child is trying to fall asleep."

For adolescents, Dr Hopper advises the same sleep practices, but adds that the bed should exist primarily as a place for sleeping.

"We all know many teenagers who will spent their time horizontal in bed, doing other things other than sleeping, and that actually trains the brain to think the bed is not just for sleeping."

On top of that, relaxation exercises like yoga, visualisation or meditation can help to calm your teen.

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