Sleep appears to play a critical role in regulating daytime functioning in children.
However, few child-focused studies have used objective measures of sleep and examined
its role in emotional functioning, memory, and attention. This dissertation consisted of 2
studies. Study 1 examined children’s typical sleep and how it correlates with daytime
functioning in 32 typically developing children (14 boys, 18 girls), 8 to 12 years of age
(M=9.8 y, SD=1.4). Participants wore actigraphs (recording devices that provide
information about sleep and activity) for 1 week and then completed tasks to measure
emotional functioning, memory, and attention. On average, children slept less than 9 h
per night, which is approximately 1 h less than the recommended duration for this age.
Older children had shorter sleep durations, higher sleep efficiency, and later sleep onset
times. Correlational analyses revealed that within this group of typically developing
children, small variations in sleep were associated with statistically significant effects on
daytime functioning. Specifically, shorter sleep duration was associated with increased
negative affective response, and lower sleep efficiency was associated with poorer
performance on a divided attention task. Study 2 involved experimental manipulation of
sleep duration in the same sample of children. Following a week of typical sleep, each
child was randomly assigned to go to bed 1 h earlier for 4 nights (Extended condition) or
1 h hour later for 4 nights (Restricted condition) relative to their typical bedtime. Each
child then completed the opposite condition. Following each condition, emotional
functioning, memory, and attention were assessed using objective and subjective
measures. The sleep manipulation was effective: the children slept significantly longer in
the Extended (M=9.3 h, SD=0.6) versus Restricted (M=8.1 h, SD=0.7) condition, and
children were significantly sleepier in the Restricted condition according to parent, child,
and research assistant report. Positive affective response, emotion regulation, memory,
and aspects of attention were worse in the Restricted, compared to Extended condition.
These studies provide evidence that modest variations in sleep can have substantial
effects on daytime functioning in children. Clinical implications are discussed, including
the importance of identifying sleep problems and promoting healthy sleep habits in
children.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:NSHD.ca#10222/14345 |
| Date | 15 November 2011 |
| Creators | Vriend, Jennifer L |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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