
Sleep in Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women
Professional Resource Guide
Table of Contents
General Resources for Professionals
- Websites
- Additional Electronic Publications
- Data and Statistics
- Literature and Research
- Programs Databases
- News and Commentary
Resources on Specific Aspects of Sleep
- Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Stress
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Bruxism, Parasomnias, and Rhythmic Movement Disorder
- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Polysomnography
- Pregnancy
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
- Sleep Apnea
- Sleep Deprivation
- Sleep Practices
Related MCH Digital Library Resources
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges
- Health Insurance and Access to Care
- Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss
- Medications
- Overweight and Obesity
- Preconception and Pregnancy
- Reaching Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters
- Screening
- Social and Emotional Development
This professional resource guide directs readers to a selection of current, high-quality resources about sleep in infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. This professional resource guide can be used by health professionals, researchers, educators, community advocates, and families to learn more about sleep, to improve diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, for program development, and to locate training resources and information to answer specific questions. Separate briefs present resources for families and schools. This professional resource guide has been developed by the six national Pediatric Pulmonary Training Programs and the MCH Digital Library at Georgetown University, all of whom are funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). It will be updated periodically.
Sleep is an important component of daily life for people of all ages, with children spending an average of 30 percent to 50 percent of their day sleeping. Sleep is especially important for infants, children, adolescents, pregnant women, and new mothers. Good sleep is essential to a well-functioning family. Poor sleep and/or sleep disorders in children can have an impact on the child and the entire family. Infants, children, and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to sleep disorders and are at higher risk than adults for getting insufficient sleep. Sleep problems are increasingly being recognized as a public health issue with ties to obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and poor school performance. Underserved populations are at higher risk for sleep problems. Health professionals, families, and communities need to be knowledgeable about how to improve sleep and be able to recognize sleep disorders.
General Resources for Professionals
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Sleep medicine practice tools and guidelines and information about membership, accreditation, coding, and legislation. Some information is accessible to members only, including journal articles and a state policy directory. Patient education brochures, learning modules, webinars, and some other materials
are available for a fee. Also see AASM's blog.
- Healthy People 2030. National health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). View the overview, objectives, and recommended interventions and resources for sleep health.
- National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Information about sleep and sleep disorders in infants, children, adolescents,
and pregnant women. Includes findings from the Sleep in America polls, which address topics such as technology use and sleep, adolescents and
sleep, and children and sleep. NSF is an independent nonprofit organization
dedicated to achieving a better understanding of sleep and sleep disorders
and supporting education, sleep-related research, and advocacy.
Additional Electronic Publications
- Birch LL, Parker L, Burns A, eds. 2011. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report, Brief]. This report contains a chapter about sleep.
- Graham MG, ed. 2000. Sleep Needs, Patterns and Difficulties of Adolescents: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report].
Search the following databases for access to data and statistics about sleep
in infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. The MCH Digital Library resource
brief, Maternal
and Child Health Data and Statistics, describes these databases and offers
tips for searching them.
Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC)
Health Indicators
National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC)
Search the following databases for access to additional literature and
research about sleep
in infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. The MCH Digital Library
resource brief, Maternal
and Child Health Literature and Research Databases describes these
databases and offers tips for searching them.
ClinicalTrials.gov
National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT)
PubMed (MEDLINE, PubMed Central, Bookshelf)
Search the following databases for information about additional programs focusing
on sleep in infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. The MCH Digital Library
resource brief, Maternal
and Child Health Programs Databases, describes these
databases and offers tips for searching them.
Discretionary
Grant Information System (DGIS)
Health
Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj)
MCH Organizations Database
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM): Sleep Education. This blog covers news and information about sleep and sleep disorders.
- National Center on Sleep Disorders Research: SLEEPRFA-L List. This monthly e-mail alert service presents information about NIH initiatives and activities of potential interest to sleep and circadian researchers.
- See the MCH Digital Library family resource brief Sleep in Babies, Kids, Teens, and Pregnant Women for links to sleep specialists, sleep centers, and websites.
- See the MCH Digital Library school resource brief Sleep.
Resources on Specific Aspects of Sleep
- Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Stress
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Bruxism, Parasomnias, and Rhythmic Movement Disorder
- Caffeine
- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Polysomnography
- Pregnancy
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
- Sleep Apnea
- Sleep Deprivation
- Sleep Practices
Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Stress
- Children's Anxiety Institute: Sleep Habits Can Affect Levels of Stress and Anxiety
in Children and Teens. Information about the relationship between sleep and stress and anxiety levels.
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: Sleep. Information for families about sleep in children and adolescents and early onset of bipolar disorder. Links to information about the importance of sleep, getting a good night's sleep, depression and sleep, and sleep tools.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Resources for families, educators, health and social services professionals,
policymakers, and the media about child and adolescent traumatic stress, effective
interventions, data, and terrorism and disaster preparedness to lessen traumatic
effects. Several items broadly address sleep difficulties as a behavior associated with exposure to trauma.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM): Sleep Problems Are Common in Children with ADHD. Information about common sleep problems in children and adolescents with ADHD.
- National Sleep Foundation: ADHD and Sleep. Information about the link between ADHD and a variety of sleep problems.
- Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network: Sleep Toolkits. Toolkits and tips for parents with strategies to improve sleep for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
- Malow BA. 2007. A Good Night's Sleep in Children with ASD: What We Know, and What We Still Need To Understand Through Research. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center. [Report].
- WebMD Medical Reference. 2018. Helping Your Child with Autism Get a Good Night's Sleep. New York, NY: WebMD LLC. [Article].
- Wheeler M. 2003. Good Night, Sleep Tight, and Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite: Establishing Positive Sleep Patterns for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Resource Center for Autism. [Article].
Bruxism, Parasomnias, and Rhythmic Movement Disorder
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
Childhood Parasomnias. Information about parasomnias in children (confusion arousals, sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep eating disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep paralysis, nightmares, bedwetting, sleep hallucinations, exploding head syndrome, and sleep talking).
Rhythmic Movement. Information about rhythmic movement disorder (body rocking, head banging, or head rolling).
- KidsHealth: Bruxism. Information about bruxism (teeth grinding or clenching) in children.
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM): Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood. Information about symptoms and when to seek treatment.
- Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine: Childhood Insomnia. Information about symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment.
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Sleep Center: Narcolepsy. Information about the symptoms, possible causes, and treatment for narcolepsy.
- Narcolepsy Network. Information about narcolepsy in children and adolescents. Resources include brochures, a sleep log, and contact information for support groups, sleep centers, and sleep professionals.
- Beck SE, Marcus CL. 2009. Pediatric Polysomnography. Sleep Medicine Clinics 4(3): 393–406. [Journal article].
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Sleep Center. Prepare for Your Child's Sleep Study. Philadelphia, PA: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
- Kidshealth. 2010. Polysomnography (Sleep Study). Wellington, NZ; Auckland, NZ: Paediatric Society of New Zealand; Starship Foundation. [Fact sheet].
- Porquez EJ. 2009. Polysomnography and the Pediatric Patient. RT: For Decision Makers in Respiratory Care. January 2009. [Article].
- Also see the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guidelines, Practice Parameters for the Respiratory Indications for Polysomnography in Children (2011).
- KidsHealth: Sleeping During Pregnancy. Information on why sleeping during pregnancy can be difficult, finding a good sleeping position, and tips for sleeping success.
- National Sleep Foundation: Pregnancy and Sleep. Information about sleep problems that may occur during pregnancy, treatment options, and coping tips.
- Cleveland Clinic. 2013. Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Clinic Foundation. [Fact sheet].
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). 2011. Restless Legs Syndrome Fact Sheet. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Also available in Spanish.
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Foundation. Information about RLS, treatment, and research. Includes online discussion
groups, an electronic newsletter, and contact information for health professionals
and support groups. Resources include RLS & Kids, a collection of guides for parents with children and adolescents diagnosed with RLS. Also see the Pregnancy section for resources about RLS during pregnancy.
- American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA): Children's Sleep Apnea. Information about sleep apnea in children. Includes a directory of pediatric sleep specialists and an online support forum for pediatric sleep apnea.
- Cataletto ME, Lipton AJ, Murphy TD. 2019. Childhood Sleep Apnea. New York, NY: WebMD LLC. [Article].
- Childhood obesity is associated with sleep apnea. See the MCH Digital Library professional resource guide, Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents for resources about the prevention, identification, management, and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents.
- Colten HR, Altevogt BM, eds. 2006. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report, Brief].
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Sleep.
Resources for families, health professionals,
and child care providers about creating a safe
sleep environment for infants and reducing
the risk for SIDS. See SIDS and Other
Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe
Infant Sleep Environment. (2011). [Policy statement, Technical report].
- Cleveland Clinic. Information about sleep and encouraging healthy sleep practices by age group: infants, toddlers and preschoolers, school-age children, and adolescents.
- First Candle: Bedtime Basics. Materials to help prevent infant
deaths caused by unsafe sleep practices.
- National Sleep Foundation: Sleep Hygiene. Information and examples of healthy sleep practices. Includes information about adolescents.
- Sudden
Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS) Gateway: Safe Sleep Environment. Information
for parents, caregivers, and health professionals on safe sleep
for infants, including placing infants to sleep on their backs,
safe crib environments, and related topics.
- Also see the sleep environment section of the Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss professional resource guide.
Related MCH Digital Library Resources
- Autism Spectrum Disorder professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
- Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
- Health Insurance and Access to Care for Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief
- Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss professional resource guide (Includes a section about sleep environment), family resource brief
- Medications resource brief
- Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
- Preconception and Pregnancy professional resource guide, family resource brief
- Reaching Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters resource brief
- Screening resource brief
- Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
Sleep in Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women: Professional Resource Guide. (October 2011). (Updated: August 2014, March 2020, October 2024)
Authors: Susan Chauncey Horky, L.C.S.W., M.S.W., University of Florida; Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library; Mary H. Wagner, M.D., University of Florida.
Contributors: Kristen Hedger Archbold, R.N., Ph.D., University of Arizona; Candace Dreier, R.R.T., University of Wisconsin; Carla Salldin, Parent Consultant, University of Washington; Sarah Walker, M.S., M.P.H., R.D., University of New Mexico.
Reviewers: Jeanne Anastasi, M.A., National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child
Death and Pregnancy Loss Resource Center; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.