Research into the treatment of sleep problems in young children

Support high-quality scientific research into a person-oriented treatment of sleep problems in young children and contribute to the development of a healthy generation!

“You can learn to sleep well!”

Many young children (an estimated 10-30%) suffer from sleep problems. Sleep problems are stressful for parents and their child. Long term, this can also have a negative impact on the child's development in various areas: physical, emotional and cognitive.
Problems falling asleep and/or staying asleep often arise when a child cannot rest or fall asleep properly without the help of the parents.
This developmental step, learning to regulate yourself, can come back in a different form as the child grows older. This can be a major concern for parents. They report for example that their child suffers from angry moods, has difficulty learning to eat or has problems with toilet training.
Moreover, sleep problems that arise at a young age can often persist until later in life. Prolonged poor sleep can increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and psychological complaints.

“Every child has their own story that requires their own treatment”

Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences have started a study into the effectiveness of a combined complex approach to sleep problems in young children. This approach is context-based and person-oriented.
A context-based approach means that attention is paid to the environmental influences on the sleep problem. Attention is paid to supporting parents in how they can help their child develop self-regulatory skills.
Person-oriented means that we are aware that the sleep problem is different for every child. Every treatment is therefore different. The treatment may consist of parental guidance, nutritional advice, massage, sensory information processing and/or natural (medicinal and self-care) remedies that support the regulation of physical processes such as digestion, body temperature and sensitivity to stimuli.

There is a need for thorough scientific research into the effectiveness of this person-oriented approach. The results of the intervention are compared with a group that receives conventional behavioural treatment for sleep problems.

Our goal
We investigate and compare the effect of both this person-oriented and the conventional behavioural treatment of sleep problems in young children aged 6 – 36 months. We want to know whether the treatment results in both groups are comparable for the sleep problem. We are also curious about how parents experience their parenting skills. Finally, we look at how stressful the treatment is, for both the parents and the child.

Execution
The study is conducted in the Netherlands by a research team composed of Leiden University of Applied Sciences and Leiden University. The research takes place in the Kindertherapeuticum (Child Therapy Center) in Zeist and the Diakonessenhuis in Utrecht and Zeist. The research has been reviewed and approved by the Medical-Ethical Review Committee Leiden-The Hague-Delft.

Donate now and help our study into treatment of children with sleeping problems.
This way we help young children and their parents on their way to healthy development!