title: Sleep and sleepiness in children with nocturnal enuresis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess if sleep patterns and sleepiness are compromised in children with nocturnal enuresis (NE), in comparison with normal control subjects, and to evaluate the role of enuresis-related events during sleep.
  
  
  METHODS
  Assessment of natural sleep patterns at home in a sample of children referred to enuresis clinics and controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children's homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two children (19 boys and 13 girls aged 5.1 to 9.1 years) who suffer from primary NE and 94 healthy control subjects (49 boys and 45 girls aged 5 to 8.58 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  N/A.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sleep measures were derived from 3 to 5 nights of actigraphy and daily logs. Additional information on events related to enuresis and daytime sleepiness was collected using daily reports. Children with NE slept significantly worse than did the control subjects. Their compromised sleep patterns were reflected in a higher number of actigraphic nighttime awakenings, the reduced percentages of motionless sleep, the higher number of reported nighttime awakening, and the increased sleep latency. Children with NE also reported higher levels of sleepiness in the morning and in the evening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with the sleep of control subjects, the natural sleep of children with NE is significantly more fragmented, and the children with NE experience higher levels of daytime sleepiness. This phenomenology is associated with bedwetting episodes and attempts to keep the child dry during the night. These findings may suggest that children with NE suffer from sleep fragmentation, which may explain their higher arousal threshold. These findings have clinical implications for enuresis management.
authors.affiliation: The Adler Center for Research in Child Development and Psychopathology, Department of Psychology, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Vered
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cohen-Zrubavel
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kushnir
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kushnir
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sadeh
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053206:Nocturnal Enuresis / Q000150:complications*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012894:Sleep Stages