March 5, 2001
Children who do not get enough sleep are at increased risk for injury, according to a recent study led by Fabio Barbone, MD, associate professor of epidemiology UAB’s School of Public Health. Details of the study appear in the February 2001 issue of
Pediatrics.
“We know children should get enough rest, but this is the first study to examine what can happen if they do not get enough sleep,” Dr. Barbone says. “We found children who do not get enough sleep are at significantly greater risk for injuries. Boys ages 3 to 5 seem to be at particular risk.”
The study reports boys who slept less than 10 hours a night suffered 133% more injuries than those who got more sleep. Also, most injuries occurred between 4 pm and midnight. “We found children who have been awake for at least 8 hours, without sleep, are four times more likely to suffer an injury,” Dr. Barbone says.
The study investigated the sleep patterns of 292 children, ages birth to 15, seen by physicians at the Children’s Emergency Center of Udine in Italy. Interviews with parents and children provided information regarding the children’s sleep habits. “In most cases, children had slept less than 10 hours the night before or had skipped their naps,” Dr. Barbone explains.
Falls accounted for most injuries, followed by knocks and cycling accidents. “Most of the children were not doing anything particularly dangerous at the time of injury,” Dr. Barbone notes. “Although their injuries were serious enough to require medical attention, most were treated and released from the hospital.”
Findings suggest new tactics for injury prevention among children.
“Parents and child care providers should not neglect the importance of adequate nighttime sleep and daytime naps to prevent injuries among children, especially younger children,” Dr. Barbone says.
“Bedtime rules are important and should be consistently applied.”
Other researchers who collaborated on the study are Francesca Valent, a graduate student of UAB’s Department of Epidemiology, and Silvio Brusaferro, MD, of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Udine in Italy.