Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Oct;34(5):e70078.
doi: 10.1111/jsr.70078. Epub 2025 Apr 28.

A Closer Look at Paediatric Sleep: Sleep Health and Sleep Behavioural Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Debora Meneo  1 , Dimitri Gavriloff  2 , Silvia Cerolini  1 , Elisabetta Baldi  1 , Angelika Schlarb  3 , Lino Nobili  4   5 , Chiara Baglioni  1   6
Affiliations
Review

A Closer Look at Paediatric Sleep: Sleep Health and Sleep Behavioural Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Debora Meneo et al. J Sleep Res. 2025 Oct.

Abstract

Adequate sleep is crucial for healthy development, contributing significantly to physical and mental well-being. While research on paediatric sleep is expanding, there remain several open questions. This narrative review provides an overview of our current knowledge on paediatric sleep health and identifies literature gaps, considering factors such as age, gender, cultural differences, and the interplay between sleep, physical activity, nutrition, and mental health. It also considers sleep health in the more specific group of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. By viewing paediatric sleep health as a multidimensional construct, this review discusses age-specific issues, including the different factors affecting satisfaction, daytime alertness, sleep timing, efficiency and duration, and sleep-related behaviours. While gender differences in sleep health become apparent after puberty, few studies have addressed sex differences in children or different parental attitudes toward sleep in boys and girls. Cultural differences in sleep duration, timing, and setting are reported from infancy through adolescence; however, the cultural influence on sleep health, particularly during adolescence, remains unclear. This is crucial when considering the effects of screen time, smartphone use, and social media exposure on sleep. Further research is required to understand how sleep, nutrition, and physical health interact throughout the developmental span. Additionally, this review underscores the protective nature of sleep for adolescent mental health and for the management of emotional and behavioural problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The review identifies critical areas for future research to enhance our understanding of paediatric sleep health and develop more effective and tailored interventions and preventive programmes.

Keywords: insomnia; mental health; paediatric; physical health; sleep health.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Acebo, C., A. Sadeh, R. Seifer, O. Tzischinsky, A. Hafer, and M. A. Carskadon. 2005. “Sleep/Wake Patterns Derived From Activity Monitoring and Maternal Report for Healthy 1‐ to 5‐Year‐Old Children.” Sleep 28, no. 12: 1568–1577. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/28.12.1568.
    1. Al Lihabi, A. 2023. “A Literature Review of Sleep Problems and Neurodevelopment Disorders.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 14: 1122344. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1122344.
    1. Amanollahi, M., S. Amanollahi, A. Anjomshoa, and M. Dolatshahi. 2021. “Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Aging on Cognitive Function; Modifiable Factors Associated With Increasing Cognitive Reserve.” European Journal of Neuroscience 53, no. 9: 3109–3124. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15183.
    1. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 2023. International Classification of Sleep Disorders Third Edition, Text Revision—ICSD‐3‐TR. American Academy of Sleep Medicine–Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers. https://aasm.org/clinical‐resources/international‐classification‐sleep‐d....
    1. Arazi, A., G. Meiri, D. Danan, et al. 2020. “Reduced Sleep Pressure in Young Children With Autism.” Sleep 43, no. 6: zsz309. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz309.

LinkOut - more resources