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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Take the CME quiz: Vol. 27 No. 12, December 2006 Rapid Responses: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kass, L. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Kass, L. J. Related Collections Psychosocial Issues and Problems

Sleep Problems

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Objectives

 
After completing this article, readers should be able to:

1. Recognize when arousals from sleep are abnormal.
   
2. Discuss the contributions of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and snoring to school performance and behavior.
   
3. Explain why excessive daytime sleepiness should not immediately be blamed on "being a teenager."
   

	Introduction

 
By the end of my pediatrics residency in 1995, only once did an issue surrounding normal sleep patterns in children ever arise. This occurred when my continuity clinic preceptor cautioned me not to judge a family too harshly for allowing the infant to cosleep. She reminded me that much of the world outside the United States still practices cosleeping and that our job simply is to make sure that the baby is kept safe. In my residency program, we were taught how to recognize the symptoms and signs of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS); beyond that, however, like many other programs, issues such as normal sleep habits, the normal number of hours of sleep at various ages, and when certain sleep disorders might occur and dissipate generally were not addressed. It is not clear why such a gap in training exists, but parents certainly ask the questions. At any playground, all parents at some point comment on their child’s sleep or lack thereof. A recent report from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) (Sleep in America Poll 2004), reported that 76% of parents surveyed have issues surrounding their child’s sleep that they wish they could change; 52% of parents wished that their pediatricians would ask more questions regarding sleep.

Expected normal hours of sleep have been suggested for the various pediatric age groups (Table 1). The NSF’s Sleep in America Poll found that across all age groups, children were receiving up to 90 minutes less sleep than expected. Parents believed, however, that their children were . . . [Full Text of this Article]