Screen time exposure and sleep among children with developmental disabilities.

AIM: Children with developmental disabilities are at risk of excessive screen time and are more vulnerable to sleep problems. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of screen time use in children with developmental disabilities and its relationship with sleep duration. METHODS: Consecutive children aged 6-15 years diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth or Fifth Edition (DSM-IV or DSM-5) developmental disabilities were recruited for this study from December 2014 to April 2015. Of those recruited, 87.0% of families gave consent and provided questionnaire information on demographics and child's screen time use and completed the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. RESULTS: Parents of 102 children in a tertiary-care developmental clinic completed the study. The mean age of children was 10 years, 1 month (standard deviation (SD), 22.7 months). The mean daily total screen time exposure was 2 h, 52.7 min (172.7 min, SD 120.8 min), with a median of 150.0 min. The mean amount of sleep per weekday was 8 h, 23.3 min (SD 64.6 min). Linear regression showed that, for every additional 9.17 min of screen time per day, sleep was reduced by 1 min (ß = -0.11, P = 0.04). Older age (ß = -0.64, P = 0.02) and living with a single parent (ß = -69.29, P = 0.003) were also associated with less sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Among children with developmental disabilities, greater daily screen time is associated with lower sleep duration. Older children and those from single-parent families are at risk of lower sleep duration. Clinicians should routinely ask about screen time exposure and sleep habits in order to provide appropriate anticipatory guidance.

Sleep Patterns and Dysfunctions in Children with Learning Problems.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine the sleep patterns and dysfunctions in children with learning problems in comparison against a local population-based sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Parents of 200 children with learning problems and 372 parents of a local population-based sample of typically developing (TD) children were recruited to complete a questionnaire on their child's sleep patterns and sleep problems. The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) is a validated parent-reported sleep screening questionnaire that contains 54 items identifying sleep behaviours in children. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 4.2 years (SD: 1.4; range, 2 to 6 years). Sleep duration was similar between the 2 groups. The difference in mean CSHQ subscale scores between children with learning problems and TD children was significant for sleep-disordered breathing (1.3 vs 1.2, P = 0.001). Among children with learning problems, 36.5% snored (vs 26.6% of TD children), 30.5% had noisy breathing (vs 18.8%), and 9.0% (vs 4.6%) experienced difficulty breathing 2 or more times a week. Children with learning problems woke up in a more irritable mood (P = 0.01), had more difficulty in getting out of bed (P <0.001), and took a longer time to be alert (P <0.001). They exhibited fewer behaviours of daytime drowsiness (P = 0.009). Among this group of children, 15.0% of parents reported that their child had a sleep problem compared to 9.0% in the TD group. CONCLUSION: Sleep breathing disorders and symptoms of morning sleepiness are more prevalent in children with learning problems. Symptoms of daytime lethargy are similar between the 2 groups. We suggest that a simple outpatient screening targeted at these problems be instituted in the initial workup of any child with learning difficulties.