Child Sleep Problems Associated with Psychosis in Young Adults

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

Children who experience chronic lack of sleep from infancy may be at increased risk of developing psychosis in early adulthood, new research shows.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham examined information on nighttime sleep duration from a large cohort study of children aged between 6 months and 7 years old. They found that children who persistently slept fewer hours, throughout this time period, were more than twice as likely to develop a psychotic disorder in early adulthood, and nearly four times as likely to have a psychotic episode.

While previous research has highlighted links between sleep problems and psychosis at specific time points, this is the first study to show that persistent lack of sleep is a strong predictor of psychosis.

Lead author, Dr Isabel Morales-Muñoz, said: “It’s entirely normal for children to suffer from sleep problems at different points in their childhood, but it’s also important to know when it might be time to seek help. Sometimes sleep can become a persistent and chronic problem, and this is where we see links with psychiatric illness in adulthood.

“The good news is that we know that it is possible to improve our sleep patterns and behaviors. While persistent lack of sleep may not be the only cause of psychosis in early adulthood, our research suggests that it is a contributing factor, and it is something that parents can address.”

The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, were based on data taken from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which includes records of 12,394 children from 6 months to 7 years, and 3,889 at 24 years old.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240508113129.htm