Infant sleep problems linked to mental health issues in adolescents

LONDON: Researchers have found that sleeping problems in early childhood may be linked to the development of certain mental health disorders in adolescence.

The study, found that young children who routinely woke up frequently during the night and experienced irregular sleep routines were associated with psychotic experiences as adolescents. The researchers also found that children who slept for shorter periods at night and went to bed later were more likely to be associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) during their teenage years.

"We know from previous research that persistent nightmares in children have been associated with both psychosis and borderline personality disorder," said study lead author Dr Isabel Morales-Muaoz from the University of Birmingham in the UK. "But nightmares do not tell the whole story - we've found that, in fact, a number of behavioural sleep problems in childhood can point towards these problems in adolescence," Morales-Muaoz added.

For the findings, the researchers examined questionnaire data from more than 7,000 participants reporting on psychotic symptoms in adolescence, and more than 6,000 reporting on BPD symptoms in adolescence. Sleep behaviour among participants was reported by parents when the children were six, 18 and 30 months, and assessed again at 3.5, 4.8 and 5.8 years old. (IANS)

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