Peer-reviewed article

Sleep disturbances in children with learning difficulties

Débora Cristina Przybysz, Ana Chrystina de Souza Crippa, Isac Bruck, Ana Paula Lopes Luiz, Ana Paula Dassiê-Leite · 1 Sept 2023

Abstract

Background: For most children, the process of learning how to read, write and math skills happens without great difficulties. However, in some cases, as a result of several factors, this process can be impaired and altered. Learning difficulties are increasingly frequent and can be impacted by environmental aspects. Children with learning difficulties may experience worsening of their conditions due to several factors, such as sleep, attention, memory, routine changes, changes in the way of teaching, among others. The quality of sleep is fundamental for the individual's overall health and for school learning, with impacts on attention, memory, concentration and logical reasoning. Objective: To investigate the sleep quality of children with learning difficulties and the association among sleep disturbances and learning difficulties. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, retrospective research. For sleep investigation, the Sleep Disturbances Scale for Children was used. The research sample consisted of children referred to the Neuropediatrics center, who were later referred to the School Disorders' Outpatient Clinic and received a diagnosis of learning difficulties after evaluation by a multidisciplinary team. Results: The sample consisted predominantly of boys, totaling 56%, while 44% were girls. As for school failure, 4% have already failed. Quantitative data revealed that 88.3% of children with learning difficulties also have sleep-related complaints, with high rates of associated sleep disorders. Of the group surveyed, 25% wake up in the morning feeling tired. Conclusions: The data collected revealed that most children with learning difficulties also have sleep-related complaints, with high rates of associated sleep disturbances. The research also revealed that the worse the sleep quality of these children, greater the learning complaints. This indicates the importance of sleep for child development and learning, as well as the need for an integral look at the child learning process, considering environmental aspects. Publication History Article published online: 18 September 2023 © 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil