Association Between Sleep and Psychomotor Development in Early Childhood

Sleep is a neurophysiological active process essential for healthy physical and cognitive development. In Portugal, there is no recent and objective data on how children sleep.

Given the importance of sleep in child health and development as well as the health gains achieved by establishing healthy sleep patterns since childhood, it seems extremely relevant to assess the various sleep parameters of Portuguese children and correlate them with their psychomotor and anthropometric development indicators. The results of this research work may support the implementation of sleep health education measures among parents, educators and policy makers, thus contributing to support the implementation of practices that promote sleep quality, napping until later in life as well as to promote the health of future adults.