The future of paediatric sleep medicine: a blueprint for advancing the field

Abstract

Paediatric sleep medicine has rapidly evolved and expanded over the past half century as it became increasingly recognised as a unique field related to but distinct from adult sleep medicine. In looking forward to the next years, the focus of the following discussion is two-fold: to summarise a brief history of the field, recent developments and current trends, and to present a blueprint for the future across various key domains. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory as a model for the interaction between the five interconnected ecosystems and sleep in children, we discuss a variety of topics relevant for the present state and future of paediatric sleep medicine. Such topics include the potential effects of climate change and war on children's sleep, the development of public policy initiatives-such as sleep education in schools and in communities, and global efforts to reduce the epidemic of insufficient sleep. Indeed, insufficient sleep contributes to a myriad of negative medical, mental health, functional, and safety consequences. We also focus on the development of paediatric sleep medicine-specific educational initiatives and training programmes, and we showcase professional organisations such as the International Paediatric Sleep Association that are dedicated to the global expansion of paediatric sleep medicine. Finally, we address the need for further interdisciplinary collaborations, identify critical research gaps and explore the potential role of artificial intelligence and other new technologies in paediatric sleep research, including standardisation of sleep measurements, and novel methods of monitoring sleep in children.

Keywords: adolescents sleep; children sleep; diagnostics; sleep disorders; sleep health; treatment.

FIGURE 1

Future developments and research should implement all the facets of the sleep‐related Bronfenbrenner model.