Search

Claudia Dosi,1 Assia Riccioni,1 Martina della Corte,1 Luana Novelli,1 Raffaele Ferri,2 Oliviero Bruni1 1Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; 2Sleep Research Centre, Oasi Institute for Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy Abstract: The correlation and/or comorbidity between sleep disorders and headache has been reported in numerous studies, but the exact nature of the association between headache, disordered sleep, and underlying mechanisms remains poorly understood. The bidirectional association between sleep and headache is mediated by a temporal link (headache occurs during sleep, after sleep, and in relationship with sleep stages), by a quantitative relationship (excess, lack, bad quality, short duration of sleep may trigger headache), and by a reciprocal connection (headache may cause sleep disruption and may be associated with several sleep disturbances). This association is most evident for primary headache disorders, especially in childhood. A congenital alteration of neurotransmitter pathways (serotoninergic and dopaminergic) might predispose individuals to both disorders, presenting as sleep–wake rhythm disorder in infancy or as headache disorder later in childhood, as result of this neurotransmitter imbalance. Clinicians should be aware that a complete clinical evaluation of childhood headache includes a careful sleep history, taking into account that the treatment of sleep disturbances could lead to an improvement of headache symptoms and vice versa. Keywords: sleep, headache, migraine, childhood, adolescence

Reut Gruber1,2, Sonia Michaelsen1,2, Lana Bergmame2, Sonia Frenette3,4, Oliviero Bruni5, Laura Fontil2, Julie Carrier3,41Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 2Attention, Behavior and Sleep Lab, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 3Centre du Sommeil et des Rythmes Biologiques, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, 4Departement de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 5Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Rome, Rome, ItalyPurpose: Pediatric, clinical, and research data suggest that insufficient sleep causes tiredness and daytime difficulties in terms of attention-focusing, learning, and impulse modulation in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or in those with ADHD and primary sleep disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine whether sleep duration was associated with ADHD-like symptoms in healthy, well-developing school-aged children.Patients and methods: Thirty-five healthy children (20 boys, 15 girls), aged 7–11 years participated in the present study. Each child wore an actigraphic device on their nondominant wrist for two nights prior to use of polysomnography to assess their typical sleep periods. On the third night, sleep was recorded via ambulatory assessment of sleep architecture in the child's natural sleep environment employing portable polysomnography equipment. Teachers were asked to report symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity on the revised Conners Teacher Rating Scale.Results: Shorter sleep duration was associated with higher levels of teacher-reported ADHD-like symptoms in the domains of cognitive problems and inattention. No significant association between sleep duration and hyperactivity symptoms was evident.Conclusion: Short sleep duration was found to be related to teacher-derived reports of ADHD-like symptoms of inattention and cognitive functioning in healthy children.Keywords: ADHD-like symptoms, sleep duration, inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, healthy school-aged children