Sadeh, A. Consequences of Sleep Loss or Sleep Disruption in Children
Avi Sadeh, DSc
Elsevier Saunders
Sleep Medicine Clinics,
Sleep Med Clin 2 (2007) 513–520
The literature on the effects or consequences of sleep loss and sleep disruptions in children has dramatically increased over the last two decades [1–4]. In this article the term ‘‘consequences’’ relates to affected or associated domains and covers such areas as neurobehavioral functioning (NBF), academic achievements, behavior problems, and emotion regulation. …
There are two basic underlying mechanisms by which insufficient or disrupted sleep may adversely impact cognitive functioning and behavior in general. The first one relates to the active role of sleep in brain maturation, information processing, memory consolidation, learning, and other brain maintenance functions [5–9]. It is assumed that insufficient sleep, and particularly rapid eye movement sleep, prevents or reduces necessary brain activities required for brain maturation, affect regulation, memory consolidation, and learning. The second mechanism is related to the reinvigorating role of sleep and the fact that insufficient or disrupted sleep leads to increased daytime sleepiness and reduced alertness and possibly to compromised daytime functioning of specific brain areas (most commonly specified: the prefrontal cortex), which in turn leads to many areas of compromised cognitive function and behavior regulation [10–15].
The literature on the effects of sleep deprivation or sleep disruptions rarely addresses these underlying mechanisms and mostly focuses on demonstrating the links between sleep characteristics and the presumably affected (or at least associated) behavioral domains. …