Sleep and its relation to cognition and behaviour in preschool‐aged children of the general population: a systematic review

Abstract

This is the first systematic review of the literature on sleep and its relation to cognition and behaviour in preschool-aged children. In comparison with the literature focused on school-aged children, knowledge involving preschoolers is rather sparse. A total of 26 studies was included in this review, which revealed a high degree of heterogeneity regarding the type and means of measuring sleep variables and behavioural and cognitive variables, as well as the statistical methods employed. Amongst the 13 articles with the largest sample sizes (top 50% of the included studies, 12 different populations), 12 found that a higher quantity or quality of sleep was associated with better behavioural and/or cognitive outcomes. Results point to an association between sleep, behaviour and cognition as early as preschool years, but the strengths of associations reported in the articles were relatively small. Studies with a smaller sample size were less concordant. It is consistent with our findings that the strengths of association are small, and thus require large sample sizes to ensure statistical detection power. Different aspects of sleep were not associated with all cognitive or behavioural features in the same way, which underscores the need for specific measures rather than general ones such as 'sleep problems' or 'behaviour problems' to be able to decipher the relationships. There is also a need for large longitudinal studies using objective measures and accounting for confounding factors. The child's genotype has recently been shown to have a moderating role in the association between sleep and behaviour, and should be further explored.

Sleep Characteristics and Problems of 2-year-olds with Williams Syndrome: Relations with Language and Behavior

“…For young TD children, longer nighttime sleep duration is associated with better early language development [3,22], although the effect size usually is small. The relation between nighttime sleep duration and cognitive development is less clear [1,23]. Less nighttime sleep is associated with difficulties in emotion regulation [23], and both reduced nighttime sleep duration [22,24] and excessive daytime sleepiness [25] have been associated with externalizing problems.…”

“…Child sleep problems impact daytime behavior [1], physical health, parental stress, and quality of life for typically developing (TD) children and their families [2]. Negative outcomes of sleep problems include language delay [1,3], cognitive delay [4], and behavior problems [1].…”

“…Child sleep problems impact daytime behavior [1], physical health, parental stress, and quality of life for typically developing (TD) children and their families [2]. Negative outcomes of sleep problems include language delay [1,3], cognitive delay [4], and behavior problems [1]. Sleep problems are even more common among children with neurodevelopmental disorders [5][6][7][8], with resulting developmental delay, language delay, and behavior difficulties for children with developmental delay [6], intellectual disability [9], autism spectrum disorders (ASD) [6,10], attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [11], Down syndrome [12], and Angelman syndrome [7].…”

Infant feeding practices and sleep development in pre‐schoolers from the EDEN mother–child cohort

“…Moreover, longitudinal studies suggested that these troubles may persist later in childhood, and even during adolescence and adulthood (Al Mamun et al., ; Byars, Yolton, Rausch, Lanphear, & Beebe, ; Morgenthaler et al., ; Quach, Hiscock, Canterford, & Wake, ). Additionally, previous studies showed that insufficient quality and quantity of sleep in children and adolescents are associated with several negative mid‐ and long‐term consequences (Chaput et al., ; Dewald, Meijer, Oort, Kerkhof, & Bögels, ; Fatima, Doi, & Mamun, ; O'Callaghan et al., ; Reynaud, Vecchierini, Heude, Charles, & Plancoulaine, ), including behavioural and cognitive performance (Dewald et al., ; Reynaud et al., ), or increased risk of overweight and obesity (Fatima et al., ).…”

“…2009). Additionally, previous studies showed that insufficient quality and quantity of sleep in children and adolescents are associated with several negative mid-and long-term consequences (Chaput et al, 2016;Dewald, Meijer, Oort, Kerkhof, & Bögels, 2010;Fatima, Doi, & Mamun, 2015;O'Callaghan et al, 2010;Reynaud, Vecchierini, Heude, Charles, & Plancoulaine, 2018), including behavioural and cognitive performance (Dewald et al, 2010;Reynaud et al, 2018), or increased risk of overweight and obesity (Fatima et al, 2015).…”