title: Sleep problems in children: a guide for primary care physicians.
abstract: Sleep problems are commonly encountered in children with a prevalence of 20-42 %. Sleep problem usually entails a sleep pattern that is unsatisfactory or cause of concern to the parent, child or physician. Children present to primary care physicians or pediatricians with mainly three types of sleep related problems-first group has disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (dyssomnias); second category (hypersomnias) is characterized by excessive sleepiness and third section represents abnormal activity or behavior during sleep, also classified as parasomnias. Evaluation of a child with sleep problem involves a comprehensive sleep history followed by detailed medical, developmental and behavioral history. One simple sleep screening tool used for evaluation of sleep in children-BEARS (B is bed time problems, E is excessive day time sleepiness, A is awakenings during the night, R is regularity as well as duration of sleep, and S is snoring) has been discussed. This article discusses common sleep problems observed in different age groups starting right from neonatal to the adolescent period followed by management strategies to optimize outcome of sleep in children.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Pediatric Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India. bhavneetb@yahoo.com
authors: Bhavneet
authors: B
authors: Bharti
authors: Ankit
authors: A
authors: Mehta
authors: Prahbhjot
authors: P
authors: Malhi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
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