Child sleep disorders: associations with parental sleep duration and daytime sleepiness.

This study examined the associations between childhood sleep disorders and mothers' and fathers' sleep duration and daytime sleepiness. One hundred seven families of children (ages 2-12 years) presenting to a pediatric sleep disorders clinic completed questionnaires assessing the sleep symptoms of the mother, father, and child. Parents of children with more than 1 type of sleep disorder experienced more daytime sleepiness than parents of children with a single sleep disorder. The pattern of results suggested more associations between maternal and child sleep than between paternal and child sleep. Within families, mothers reported significantly more daytime sleepiness than fathers, although there were no parental differences in sleep duration. Results provide preliminary evidence for an association between child sleep problems and parental daytime sleepiness, which may, in turn, extend previous research linking young children's sleep problems and parental functioning. Implications for treatment of both children and adults with sleep problems are discussed.