PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 1 (UPI) -- Parents of children with sleep problems are more likely to have sleep-related problems themselves, including more daytime sleepiness, says a U.S. study.
Researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Brown Medical School studied 107 families seeking treatment for their children aged 2 to 12 at a pediatric sleep disorders clinic, and found a link between children's and parents' sleep problems.
For both parents, having a child with more than one sleep disorder -- including obstructive sleep apnea, sleep terrors, insomnia and bedtime refusal -- was associated with greater parental daytime sleepiness.
The study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, says a link between parental and child sleep was particularly apparent for mothers. Mothers of children with sleep disorders had significantly greater daytime sleepiness than fathers, even though they reported about the same number of hours of sleep per night.
"We think this might be because mothers tend to bear more responsibility for responding to children's sleep problems during the night, and this may disrupt their sleep to a greater extent than fathers' sleep," says study author Julie Boergers.
