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. 2011 Nov;47(6):1504-14.
doi: 10.1037/a0025535. Epub 2011 Sep 26.

Children's sleep and cognitive performance: a cross-domain analysis of change over time

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Children's sleep and cognitive performance: a cross-domain analysis of change over time

Kristen L Bub et al. Dev Psychol. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Relations between changes in children's cognitive performance and changes in sleep problems were examined over a 3-year period, and family socioeconomic status, child race/ethnicity, and gender were assessed as moderators of these associations. Participants were 250 second- and third-grade (8-9 years old at Time 1) boys and girls. At each assessment, children's cognitive performance (Verbal Comprehension, Decision Speed) was measured using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, and sleep problems (Sleepiness, Sleep/Wake Problems) were collected via self-report. Individual growth models revealed that children who reported increases in Sleepiness exhibited little growth in Verbal Comprehension over time compared with their peers who reported decreases in Sleepiness, resulting in a nearly 11-point cognitive deficit by the end of the study. These associations were not found for Sleep/Wake Problems or Decision Speed. Child race/ethnicity and gender moderated these associations, with Sleepiness serving as a vulnerability factor for poor cognitive outcomes, especially among African American children and girls. Differences in cognitive performance for children with high and low Sleepiness trajectories ranged from 16 to 19 points for African American children and from 11 to 19 points for girls. Results build substantially on existing literature examining associations between sleep and cognitive functioning in children and are the first to demonstrate that children's sleep trajectories over 3 waves were associated with changes in their cognitive performance over time.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fitted Verbal Comprehension growth trajectories associated with low (1 SD below the mean) initial levels and rates of change in Sleepiness and high (1 SD above the mean) initial levels and rates of change in Sleepiness. Panel A illustrates moderation by child race/ethnicity, and Panel B illustrates moderation by child gender. Trajectories were estimated from a model controlling for child age in months and pubertal status.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fitted Decision Speed growth trajectories associated with low (1 SD below the mean) initial levels and rates of change in Sleepiness and high (1 SD above the mean) initial levels and rates of change in Sleepiness. Panel A illustrates moderation by child race/ethnicity, and Panel B illustrates moderation by child gender. Trajectories were estimated from a model controlling for child age in months and pubertal status.

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