The development and disorders of sleep.

Sleep-related problems are extremely frequent sources of parental concern and question. Many childhood sleep difficulties are simply minor behavioral problems, whereas other sleep changes represent serious disorders. Increased knowledge about the development and disorders of sleep has enormous value in making accurate diagnoses and effective interventions. Overviews are presented on common and important sleep disorders in infancy, childhood, and adolescence, including night walking, partial arousal, sleep-disordered breathing, narcolepsy, and sleep loss secondary to late and erratic schedules. This chapter also draws attention to the close links between the regulation of sleep and the control of attention, emotion, and behavior. The evidence that many children and adolescents obtain less than optimal amounts of sleep raises a number of important questions about rising rates of behavioral and emotional problems.