STUDY OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of bed provision and sleep education through the Beds for Kids (BfK) program on early childhood sleep and behavior, and maternal mood and sleep.

METHODS: Twenty-seven mother-child dyads (child= 2-5 yrs, 85.2% Black) living in poverty and without an individual child bed were randomly assigned (multi-method randomized waitlist control trial design) to BfK intervention ~1-week post-baseline (initial intervention) or ~2 weeks post-baseline (waitlist control), with follow-up at one-month. BfK intervention (home bed delivery and written sleep health education) was provided to all families. Children wore actigraphs and mothers completed daily diaries to assess child and maternal sleep, child behavior, and maternal mood for the initial one-week comparison period. Maternal-reported child sleep and behavior (internalizing and externalizing problems) were collected at one-month post BfK-participation for all families; n=11 completed a qualitative interview at one-month assessment.

RESULTS: At one-week post-BfK, mothers' sleep duration increased by 1 hour compared to waitlist controls. No changes were found in child sleep, child behavior, or maternal mood. However, at one-month post-BfK intervention, improvements were found in mother-reported child night awakenings, sleep quality and sleep problems, and behavior. Mothers qualitatively reported significant BfK benefits for child sleep and family wellbeing, although noted challenges to transitioning young children to sleeping independently.

CONCLUSIONS: Bed provision and sleep education for families living in poverty has a more immediate impact on maternal sleep and reported wellbeing. Child sleep and behavioral improvements are seen by one month, with children experiencing an initial adjustment period to sleeping independently.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Impact of Beds for Kids Program on Child Sleep; Identifier: NCT03392844; URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03392844.

OBJECTIVES: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends routine sleep problem screenings during child well-visits. However, studies suggest a discrepancy between caregiver- and clinician-reported child sleep problems. The present study examines whether caregiver-reported child sleep problems (i.e., habitual snoring, insomnia symptoms, poor sleep health) and clinician-documented child sleep problems and management are congruent.

METHODS: The sample included 170 caregiver-child dyads (child M = 3.3 years, range=2-5 years; 56.5% girls; 64.1% Black, 20.0% non-Latinx White, and 4.1% Latinx; 86.5% maternal caregiver reporter). Caregivers' questionnaire-based reports of habitual snoring, insomnia symptoms, and sleep health behaviors (nighttime electronics, caffeine intake, insufficient sleep) were compared with clinician documentation in the electronic health record.

RESULTS: 92.3% of children had at least one caregiver-reported sleep problem (66% insomnia symptoms, 64% electronics, 38% insufficient sleep, 21% caffeine, 17% snoring). In contrast, a substantially lower percent of children had a clinician documented sleep problem (20% overall; 10% insomnia symptoms, 7% electronics, 0% insufficient sleep, 3% caffeine, 4% snoring), sleep-related referral (1% overall; 0.6% Otolaryngology, 0.6% polysomnogram, 0% sleep clinic), or recommendation (12% overall; 8% insomnia symptoms, 4% electronics, 0% insufficient sleep, 1% caffeine).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a vast discrepancy between caregiver-reported child sleep problems and clinician-documented sleep problems and management, with a higher proportion of caregiver reports. To benefit overall child health and well-being, future research and quality improvement initiatives should focus on enhancing screening tools and educational opportunities to improve clinician documentation and enhance family conversations about early childhood sleep problems.

OBJECTIVES: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends routine sleep problem screenings during child well-visits. However, studies suggest a discrepancy between caregiver- and clinician-reported child sleep problems. The present study examines whether caregiver-reported child sleep problems (i.e., habitual snoring, insomnia symptoms, poor sleep health) and clinician-documented child sleep problems and management are congruent.

METHODS: The sample included 170 caregiver-child dyads (child M = 3.3 years, range=2-5 years; 56.5% girls; 64.1% Black, 20.0% non-Latinx White, and 4.1% Latinx; 86.5% maternal caregiver reporter). Caregivers' questionnaire-based reports of habitual snoring, insomnia symptoms, and sleep health behaviors (nighttime electronics, caffeine intake, insufficient sleep) were compared with clinician documentation in the electronic health record.

RESULTS: 92.3% of children had at least one caregiver-reported sleep problem (66% insomnia symptoms, 64% electronics, 38% insufficient sleep, 21% caffeine, 17% snoring). In contrast, a substantially lower percent of children had a clinician documented sleep problem (20% overall; 10% insomnia symptoms, 7% electronics, 0% insufficient sleep, 3% caffeine, 4% snoring), sleep-related referral (1% overall; 0.6% Otolaryngology, 0.6% polysomnogram, 0% sleep clinic), or recommendation (12% overall; 8% insomnia symptoms, 4% electronics, 0% insufficient sleep, 1% caffeine).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a vast discrepancy between caregiver-reported child sleep problems and clinician-documented sleep problems and management, with a higher proportion of caregiver reports. To benefit overall child health and well-being, future research and quality improvement initiatives should focus on enhancing screening tools and educational opportunities to improve clinician documentation and enhance family conversations about early childhood sleep problems.

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Previous studies of sleep patterns and perceived problems in early childhood indicate variation by family socioeconomic status. The purpose of this study was to examine variation in correlates of a caregiver-perceived child sleep problem across and within levels of community disadvantage in a large US sample.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Caregivers of 14,980 young children (ages 0-35.9 months) in the US completed the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-Revised (BISQ-R) on the freely and publicly available Johnson's® Bedtime® Baby Sleep App. Zip code was used to identify a Distressed Communities Index (DCI) score, which represents community disadvantage based on neighborhood indicators.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Across all levels of community disadvantage, caregivers who reported greater impact of child sleep on their own sleep, bedtime difficulty, more frequent and longer night wakings, and increased total nighttime sleep were more likely to endorse a child sleep problem. These associations varied by level of community disadvantage. For caregivers living in more disadvantaged communities, impact of child sleep on their own sleep and night wakings were the strongest correlates of endorsing a child sleep problem, whereas for those in more advantaged communities the impact of child sleep on their own sleep and night wakings as well as additional aspects of sleep health, such as short sleep duration, were associated with endorsement of a child sleep problem.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Findings suggest that families living in more distressed communities are most likely to identify the impact of child sleep on their own sleep and night wakings in reporting a child sleep problem, whereas those from more prosperous communities consider these factors as well as other sleep parameters, including sleep duration. Clinicians should consider expanding screening questions for child sleep problems to include the perceived impact on caregiver sleep.</p>

<p><strong>STUDY OBJECTIVES: </strong>To describe the adaptation, feasibility, and initial outcomes of <em>Sleep Well!</em>, an intervention for early childhood insomnia and insufficient sleep, designed for families from lower-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds presenting to large metropolitan primary care sites.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Fifteen caregiver-child dyads (caregivers: 92.3% mothers; 80.0% Black; 53.3% ≤125% US poverty level; children: 73.3% female; 86.7% Black; age = 3.0 years) participated this multi-method, single-arm trial. A family advisory board of caregivers (N = 4) and a clinician advisory board of sleep experts, primary care clinicians, and psychologists (N = 13) provided intervention feedback throughout the pilot. Most adaptations were related to intervention delivery methods, with some related to sleep strategies. At post-intervention, caregivers completed surveys on intervention acceptability and cultural humility (primary outcomes) and completed semi-structured interviews. Caregivers also reported on child sleep pre- and post-intervention.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Thirteen (86.6%) families completed <em>Sleep Well!&nbsp;</em>and 12 (80.0%) completed pre- and post-intervention measures. Caregivers reported strong intervention acceptability and cultural humility. There were pre-to-post reductions in child sleep problems, bedroom electronics, sleep onset latency, and night awakening frequency and duration. Nighttime sleep duration and overall insufficient sleep also improved. Qualitative data also showed strong intervention acceptability and perceived flexibility, with few participation barriers.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>A brief, early childhood behavioral sleep intervention delivered in primary care with families from primarily lower-SES and/or racially minoritized backgrounds is feasible to implement, with strong retention rates, acceptability, and perceptions of cultural humility. Child sleep improvements are positive, and warrant replication in a randomized controlled trial.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Sleep problems and cumulative risk factors (e.g., caregiver depression, socioeconomic disadvantage) have independently been linked to adverse child development, but few studies have examined the interplay of these factors. We examined whether cumulative risk exposure moderated the link between sleep problems, including insomnia and poor sleep health, and child psychological outcomes.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>205 caregiver-child dyads (child Mage = 3.3 years; 53.7% girls; 62.9% Black, 22.4% non-Latinx White, and 4.4% Latinx; 85.4% maternal caregiver reporter) completed child sleep, family sociodemographic, and child psychological functioning (internalizing, externalizing, and executive functioning) questionnaires. Indexes of cumulative risk exposure, insomnia symptoms, and poor sleep health were created.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Ninety percent of children had ≥1 cumulative risks, 62.9% had ≥1 insomnia symptom, and 84.5% had ≥1 poor sleep health behavior. Increased insomnia symptoms were significantly associated with increased child internalizing, externalizing, and global executive functioning impairments controlling for child age, race/ethnicity, and sex. Poor sleep health behaviors were associated with internalizing concerns. Cumulative risk exposure was not associated with outcomes but moderated the association between insomnia symptoms and all psychological outcomes, such that children with higher cumulative risk exposure and insomnia symptoms had the greatest impairments. Children with the poorest sleep health behaviors and highest cumulative risks had the greatest internalizing concerns.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Insomnia symptoms in particular are associated with poor child outcomes, which are exacerbated when accompanied by greater cumulative risk exposure. Clinicians should assess sleep when treating early psychological concerns, especially within the context of increased cumulative risks.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To examine whether increased socioeconomic disadvantage, indexed using a measure of community distress, was associated with variation in caregiver-reported early childhood sleep patterns and problems in a large US sample using a mobile health application (app).</p>

<p><strong>DESIGN: </strong>Cross-sectional.</p>

<p><strong>SETTING: </strong>Data were collected using the free, publicly available Johnson's Bedtime© baby sleep app.</p>

<p><strong>PARTICIPANTS: </strong>A total of 14,980 caregivers (85.1% mothers) of children ages 6-35.9 months (M&nbsp;=&nbsp;13.88 months; 52.6% boys) participated in this study.</p>

<p><strong>MEASURES: </strong>Caregivers reported on child sleep using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-Revised. Socioeconomic disadvantage was indexed by zip code using the Distressed Communities Index (DCI), which combines seven US census indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage. DCI scores range from prosperous (lowest quintile) to distressed (highest quintile).</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Socioeconomic disadvantage was significantly associated with later bedtimes, longer sleep onset latency, and shorter nighttime and 24-hour (total) sleep duration, with children living in distressed communities showing the poorest sleep. However, caregivers living in distressed communities reported a significantly lower prevalence of overall child sleep problems (43% vs 58% in prosperous communities), and more confidence in managing child sleep (42% vs 34% in prosperous communities).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Children living in the most distressed communities have the poorest reported sleep patterns and bedtime behaviors; however, their caregivers are less likely to report problematic child sleep. These findings highlight the need for community-level sleep health promotion interventions, as well as further investigation of caregiver perceptions about child sleep and sleep health promotion among families living in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts.</p>

<p>In 2014, Buysse published a novel definition of sleep health, raising awareness for the importance of this construct for individuals, populations, clinical care, and research. However, the original definition focused on adults, with the recommendation that it should be adapted for children and adolescents. As children live within a complex and dynamic system, and may not always have control over their own sleep, this theoretical review will examine and apply Buysse's five dimensions of sleep health within the context of pediatrics. In addition, using examples from the pediatric sleep literature we introduce a modified definition that takes into consideration the influence of the socio-ecological system within which children live, and the sleep-related behaviors that are critical in supporting or hindering sleep health. Finally, we discuss how the proposed theoretical framework, Peds B-SATED, can be applied to clinical practice, research, and training in the field of pediatric sleep.</p>

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>This study examined whether distinct sleep problem trajectories from infancy through middle childhood were associated with multiple aspects of child well-being at ages 10-11&nbsp;years.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Data were from the first six waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children - Birth Cohort (5,107 children recruited at birth). Caregivers reported on child sleep problems at each time point. A combination of caregiver-reported, teacher-reported and child-completed tasks were used to index child well-being outcomes at ages 10-11&nbsp;years including emotional/behavioural functioning (internalizing and externalizing symptoms; self-control), health-related quality of life, cognitive skills and academic achievement.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Latent class analysis identified five distinct sleep problem trajectories over time: persistent sleep problems through middle childhood (7.7% of the sample), limited infant/preschool sleep problems (9.0%), increased middle childhood sleep problems (17.0%), mild sleep problems over time (14.4%) and no sleep problems (51.9%). Compared to those with no sleep problems, children with persistent sleep problems had the greatest impairments across all outcomes except cognitive skills (perceptual reasoning), with moderate to large effect sizes. Children with increased middle childhood sleep problems similarly experienced greater internalizing and externalizing symptoms and worse quality of life, but few academic impairments. Both the limited infant/preschool sleep problems and mild increases over time trajectories also showed internalizing concerns and worse caregiver-reported quality of life, although effects were smaller than the other sleep trajectories.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The linkages between sleep problems and negative child outcomes across domains underscore the importance of early identification and targeted intervention to address sleep problems and promote child well-being.</p>

<p>Bedtime problems and night wakings are highly prevalent in infants. This study assessed the real-world effectiveness of an mHealth behavioral sleep intervention (Customized Sleep Profile; CSP). Caregivers (83.9% mothers) of 404 infants (age 6 to 11.9 m, M = 8.32 m, 51.2% male) used the CSP (free and publicly available behavioral sleep intervention delivered via smartphone application, Johnson's® Bedtime® Baby Sleep App). Caregivers completed the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire-Revised (BISQ-R) at baseline and again 4 to 28 days later. Changes in sleep patterns were analyzed, based on sleep problem status (problem versus no problem sleepers; PS; NPS). Sleep onset latency improved in both groups. Earlier bedtimes, longer continuous stretches of sleep, as well as decreased number and duration of night wakings, were evident in the PS group only. The BISQ-R Total score, total nighttime sleep, and total 24-hour sleep time improved for both groups, with a greater change for the PS group. Further, caregivers of infants in the PS group decreased feeding (bedtime and overnight) and picking up overnight, and perceived better sleep. Bedtime routine regularity, bedtime difficulty, sleep onset difficulty, and caregiver confidence improved for both groups, with the PS group showing a greater magnitude of change. Thus, a real-world, publicly available, mHealth behavioral sleep intervention was associated with improved outcomes for older infants. Intervention recommendations resulted in changes in caregivers' behavior and improvements in caregiver-reported sleep outcomes in infants, in as few as 4 days.</p>