Review of Behavioral Sleep Problems and Development of Executive Function

1077 Effects of Sleep Problems in Children—Turnbull et al INTRODUCTION Behavioral sleep problems are the most common sleep problems in childhood within the general population. Between 15% and 30% of 2to 5-year-old children experience regular difficulties falling asleep (i.e., bedtime problems) or sleeping through the night (i.e., night waking).1-4 Fewer school-aged children experience behavioral sleep problems compared to preschool children, but these problems still occur in 11% to 15% of school-age children (6-12 years).5,6 Behavioral sleep problems result in reduced sleep duration and/or sleep fragmentation, leading to varying degrees of chronic sleep restriction. As we learn more about children’s sleep habits and sleep problems through population-based studies,2,7-11 there is a need to determine how these prevalent sleep disruptions might affect children during the course of development. Given that a substantial proportion of children experience behavioral sleep problems at some point, there is a need to better understand the impact of sleep restriction and fragmentation on children’s neurobehavioral functioning. The impact of sleep restriction on neurobehavioral functioning in adults has been extensively examined,12-14 but few studies have been conducted with children. The effects of sleep restriction and sleep problems may vary with age, because neurological functioning15,16 and sleep needs8 change considerably during child development. We examine research from cognitive developmental psychology and neuroscience, as well as pediatric sleep research to illustrate how neurobehavioral skills with a protracted developmental course (specifically exREVIEW OF BEHAVIORAL SLEEP PROBLEMS AND DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION