Children’s Sleep and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose of Review The COVID-19 pandemic and protracted home confinement required adjustments to schedules and routines generating concern about children’s sleep. This review describes general considerations regarding children’s sleep, changes and disturbances in their sleep during the pandemic, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current psychiatry reports 2023-12, Vol.25 (12), p.847-856
Main Authors: Pfefferbaum, Betty, Tucker, Phebe, Ekambaram, Vijayabharathi, Van Horn, Richard L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Circadian rhythm
COVID-19
Exercise
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental Health
Pandemics
Psychiatry
Screen time
Sleep
Sleep Wake Disorders - epidemiology
Topical Collection on Child and Family Disaster Psychiatry
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Summary:Purpose of Review The COVID-19 pandemic and protracted home confinement required adjustments to schedules and routines generating concern about children’s sleep. This review describes general considerations regarding children’s sleep, changes and disturbances in their sleep during the pandemic, and the association of sleep measures with health and psychological outcomes in general and in the context of the pandemic. Recent Findings A number of studies found an increase in the duration of children’s sleep with later bedtimes and waketimes for some children. The research also documented sleep disturbances and associations between children’s sleep and psychological outcomes. Summary The extent to which increased sleep duration and changed sleep behaviors translated into improved sleep quality and/or a change in sleep disturbances remains unclear. This review suggests the importance of considering children’s sleep in other mass trauma situations including, for example, natural and man-made disasters, as well as pandemics.
ISSN:1523-3812
1535-1645
DOI:10.1007/s11920-023-01475-z