Sleep from Infancy Through Adolescence

• Published in: Sleep medicine clinics Vol. 18; no. 2; p. 123
• Main Authors: Zandieh, Stephanie O, Johnson, Sheryl, Katz, Eliot S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Infant; Respiration; Sleep - physiology; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; Sleep, REM; Wakefulness; Sleep; School-aged children; Sleep efficiency; Sleep timing; Infant; Toddler; Adolescents; Sleep duration
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.01.007

This article describes the changes in normal sleep regulation, structure, and organization and sleep-related changes in respiration from infancy to adolescence. The first 2 years of age are striking, with more time asleep than awake. With development, the electroencephalogram architecture has a marked reduction in rapid eye movement sleep and the acquisition of K-complexes, sleep spindles, and slow-wave sleep. During adolescence there is a reduction in slow-wave sleep and a delay in the circadian phase. Infants have a more collapsible upper airway and lower lung volumes than older children, which predisposes them to obstructive sleep apnea and sleep-related hypoxemia.