Sleep disorders in children with blindness.
To evaluate the frequency and type of sleep disorders seen in blind children compared with matched controls, a 42-item questionnaire was used on 156 children (77 blind children) ranging from 3 to 18 years of age. A total of 17.4% of blind children reported sleeping less than 7 hours per night on weekdays compared with 2.6% of controls, with blind children awakening much earlier. Blind children had more sleep complaints, and 13.4% of blind subjects had daily episodes of involuntary sleepiness compared with 1.3% of controls. Blindness has an impact on sleep and alertness that adds to the primary disability.
Leger
D
D
Stanford University Sleep Disorders Center, CA 94305, USA.
Prevot
E
E
Philip
P
P
Yence
C
C
Labaye
N
N
Paillard
M
M
Guilleminault
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D001766:Blindness / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires