Fiona Clark Sleep Problems Linked to Bullying Interview

Fiona Clark Sleep Problems Linked to Bullying Interview

Children who are bullies or are aggressive or have conduct problems at school, are more likely to be sleepy during the day according to University of Michigan Medical School study.

The researchers looked at elementary school students in Michigan public schools who had been referred for conduct discipline problems or bullying and found that they had twice the rate of symptoms for sleep-disordered breathing, particularly daytime sleepiness among these students.

"What this study does is raise the possibility that poor sleep, from whatever cause, can indeed play into bullying or other aggressive behaviours – a major problem that many schools are trying to address," says Louise O'Brien, Ph.D., assistant professor in the university's Sleep Disorders Centre and the departments of Neurology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

While schools may push the importance of healthy eating and exercise, 'this study highlights that good sleep is just as essential to a healthy lifestyle," O'Brien said.

Causes of Poor Sleep
The study, published in Sleep Medicine, showed that sleepiness - which could be caused by disordered breathing problems like snoring or sleep apnoea, or other factors like fragmented sleep, over stimulation from electronic devices or chaotic home environments - seemed to be the biggest driver of the behaviour problems.

Although there are other reasons for these behaviours, if sleepiness does contribute to aggressive behaviour as this study suggests, a significant proportion of bullying in children might be eliminated by efforts to improve sleep quality and reduce daytime sleepiness, the researchers concluded.

Effect on the Brain
"We know that the pre-frontal cortex area of the brain is sensitive to sleep deprivation, and this area is also related to emotional control, decision making and social behaviour," said O'Brien.
"So impairment in the prefrontal cortex may lead to aggression or disruptive behaviour, delinquency or even substance abuse.
'But the good news is that some of these behaviours can be improved. Sleep-disordered breathing can be treated, and schools or parents can encourage kids to get more sleep."

How Much Sleep is Enough?
O'Brien recommends parents remove electronic devices from bedrooms, make getting enough sleep a priority and encourage children to sleep for the recommended amount of time without interruption.

Children in pre-school should sleep between 11-13 hours a night, and school-aged children between 10-11 hours.

Interview with Fiona Clark

Fiona Clark is the editor of Itsmyhealth.com.au Question: Were you surprised at the results of the University of Michigan Medical School study?

Fiona Clark: No, not really there have been a number of studies over the past few years that have been looking at sleep and it's effect on children's behaviour and even ADHD so no, I'm not surprised. I think, for me, it is another one of those links that are slowly building over a period of time that show how important good sleep is.


Question: Do you believe the findings would be similar for Australian children?

Fiona Clark: Yes, lots of studies have been done out of the UK as well. Children are children, all over the world and they all seem to need a reasonable number of hours sleep.


Question: How many hours of sleep is needed for a child in primary school? How does the amount of hours sleep we need change?

Fiona Clark: They say between 10 and 11 hours a night for a primary school aged child and between 11 and 13 for pre-schoolers.


Question: If children have trouble getting to sleep at an appropriate time, what can you suggest?

Fiona Clark: The current catch phrase for this is -good sleep hygiene' and they talk about setting up a routine and the wind down time before children go to bed so every night they know what to expect. It is important to decrease the amount of stimulation before going to bed as well, this could be stopping video games and television a little bit earlier. It goes back to the traditional dinner, bath, bed, or whichever order parents prefer to do them in, so children have the expectation of this is the way every evening is and there is less external and overactive stimulation. If children are in a bad habit of going to sleep quite late at night they say don't try and get them to go to sleep two hours earlier, but slowly bring it back by five or ten minutes every night so it's not such a big fight or sudden change and that will help bring the reasonable number of hours up as well.


Question: How can the sleep disorders be treated?

Fiona Clark: They can be treated but the important thing about this study is they're not just saying that the bad behaviour in children is because they have the sleeping problems. The sleeping problems that they're looking at are kids who might have sleep apnea or are snoring quite a lot. There is a difference between snoring and sleep apnea but snoring and sleep apnea are often related to weight. If there is a weight issue, getting a little bit more exercise and reducing the weight can reduce the problems with snoring and with sleep apnea.
Perhaps putting a humidifier into a room might help with easier breathing as could sleeping on the side rather than on the back, these are both little hints that might help. Obviously for small babies you don't want to put anything in a bed that will stop them breathing, all babies are definitely not in this category.


Question: How can parents test if their child is having sleeping issues?

Fiona Clark: I have heard a lot of other mothers saying -my children snores a lot' so I guess they are actually hearing it when they are going into the room to make sure they're actually sleeping. It's hard to say because we all end up ignoring things (I am thinking about my own son, who has too many electronic things in his room) but they do always say keep the computer, television etc out of the bedroom because the bedroom should only be for sleeping so if possible it is better to try and do that. As they get older I know they do use technology because I'll walk into my son's room and I'll find him in bed, underneath the doona with his mobile phone and his laptop so as they get older they do tend to -break the rules' anyway.


Interview by Brooke Hunter