Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Science Communicator Platform

Stay connected! Follow us on X network (Twitter):
Share this content! On (X network) By
The Future of Paediatric Sleep Medicine: A Blueprint for Advancing the Field Publisher



Schlarb AA1 ; Blunden S2, 3 ; Brand S4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ; Bruni O10 ; Corkum P11 ; Horne RSC12 ; Ipsiroglu OS13, 14 ; Quante M15 ; Spruyt K16, 17 ; Owens J18
Authors
Show Affiliations
Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
  2. 2. Appleton Institute of Behavioural Science, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Wayville, SA, Australia
  3. 3. School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  4. 4. Centre for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  5. 5. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Sport and Health Science, Sport Science Section, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  6. 6. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Department of Psychiatry, Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah, Iran
  7. 7. Department of Psychiatry, Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran
  8. 8. School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  9. 9. Center for Disaster Psychiatry and Disaster Psychology, Center of Competence of Disaster Medicine of the Swiss Armed Forces, Basel, Switzerland
  10. 10. Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
  11. 11. Department Psychology & Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
  12. 12. Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  13. 13. BCCH – Interdisciplinary Sleep Program & BCCH Research Institute Sleep/Wake-Behaviours Lab, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  14. 14. Sleep Program, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  15. 15. Department of Neonatology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
  16. 16. INSERM, NeuroDiderot, Universite Paris Cite, Paris, France
  17. 17. Hospital Robert Debre AP-HP, Paris, France
  18. 18. Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

Source: Journal of Sleep Research Published:2025


Abstract

Paediatric sleep medicine has rapidly evolved and expanded over the past half century as it became increasingly recognised as a unique field related to but distinct from adult sleep medicine. In looking forward to the next years, the focus of the following discussion is two-fold: to summarise a brief history of the field, recent developments and current trends, and to present a blueprint for the future across various key domains. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory as a model for the interaction between the five interconnected ecosystems and sleep in children, we discuss a variety of topics relevant for the present state and future of paediatric sleep medicine. Such topics include the potential effects of climate change and war on children's sleep, the development of public policy initiatives—such as sleep education in schools and in communities, and global efforts to reduce the epidemic of insufficient sleep. Indeed, insufficient sleep contributes to a myriad of negative medical, mental health, functional, and safety consequences. We also focus on the development of paediatric sleep medicine-specific educational initiatives and training programmes, and we showcase professional organisations such as the International Paediatric Sleep Association that are dedicated to the global expansion of paediatric sleep medicine. Finally, we address the need for further interdisciplinary collaborations, identify critical research gaps and explore the potential role of artificial intelligence and other new technologies in paediatric sleep research, including standardisation of sleep measurements, and novel methods of monitoring sleep in children. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Sleep Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Sleep Research Society.
Related Docs
1. Validity and Reliability Related to the Persian Version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Sleep and Biological Rhythms (2015)
2. The Origins of the Dark—Hyperactivity and Negative Peer Relationships, an Objectively Lower Sleep Efficiency, and a Longer Sleep Onset Latency at Age Five Were Associated With Callous-Unemotional Traits and Low Empathy at Age 14, Journal of Clinical Medicine (2023)
Experts (# of related papers)
Farnaz Etesam (1)