{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T06:32:57Z","timestamp":1790231577263,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]],"date-time":"2025-04-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744243200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sleep is a crucial physiological process for cognitive, emotional, and physical development during childhood. Despite its importance, a significant percentage of school-aged children experience sleep disturbances, which can impact academic performance and overall well-being. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate sleep habits and disorders in children aged 6\u201313 years, identifying issues such as difficulties falling asleep, frequent awakenings, and parasomnias, as well as their correlations with daytime consequences. Methods: A structured questionnaire, based on the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), was administered to 100 parents of school-aged children. The sample included participants without diagnosed neurological disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, or chronic illnesses interfering with sleep. The data were statistically analyzed to assess the frequency and severity of sleep disturbances and their correlations with daytime symptoms. Results: Although most children (44.1%) slept 8\u20139 h per night, 32.4% exhibited bedtime resistance, and 29.4% had difficulty falling asleep. Common sleep disturbances included occasional snoring (44.1%), bruxism (11.8%), morning fatigue (41.2%), and daytime sleepiness (15.2%). Additionally, 23.5% of the children experienced confusion upon waking. The analysis also revealed a correlation between sleep fragmentation and mood alterations or cognitive difficulties. Conclusions: The study confirms the high prevalence of sleep disorders in pediatric populations, emphasizing the need for routine screening during clinical check-ups. Educational interventions on sleep hygiene practices\u2014such as reducing evening screen exposure\u2014and school policies that align with pediatric circadian rhythms could mitigate negative effects. The lack of objective measures such as actigraphy and polysomnography is a limitation, highlighting the need for integrated approaches in future studies. A multidisciplinary approach is essential to optimizing sleep health and overall child development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children12040489","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]],"date-time":"2025-04-10T07:41:51Z","timestamp":1744270911000},"page":"489","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Sleep Habits and Disorders in School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Parental Questionnaires"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0304-2113","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Mezzofranco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ludovica","family":"Agostini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ayoub","family":"Boutarbouche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sofia","family":"Melato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Zalunardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Franco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Gracco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani 2, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"551","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mcna.2004.01.001","article-title":"Normal human sleep: An overview","volume":"88","author":"Hirshkowitz","year":"2004","journal-title":"Med. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"507","DOI":"10.1007\/s11892-014-0507-z","article-title":"Metabolic consequences of sleep and circadian disorders","volume":"14","author":"Depner","year":"2014","journal-title":"Curr. Diabetes Rep."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"575","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nrl.2018.08.002","article-title":"Insomnia Study Group of the Spanish Sleep Society (SES). Melatonin in sleep disorders","volume":"37","author":"Poza","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurologia"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"507","DOI":"10.1016\/S0306-4522(00)00220-7","article-title":"Brain site-specificity of extracellular adenosine concentration changes during sleep deprivation and spontaneous sleep: An in vivo microdialysis study","volume":"99","author":"Strecker","year":"2000","journal-title":"Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"758","DOI":"10.4103\/ijem.IJEM_156_17","article-title":"Sleep disorders in type 2 diabetes","volume":"21","author":"Khandelwal","year":"2017","journal-title":"Indian J. Endocrinol. Metab."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Varallo, G., Franceschini, C., Rapelli, G., Zenesini, C., Baldini, V., Baccari, F., Antelmi, E., Pizza, F., Vignatelli, L., and Biscarini, F. (2024). Navigating narcolepsy: Exploring coping strategies and their association with quality of life in patients with narcolepsy type 1. Sci. Rep., 14.","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-62698-5"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chc.2020.08.002","article-title":"Classification and epidemiology of sleep disorders in children and adolescents","volume":"30","author":"Trosman","year":"2021","journal-title":"Child Adolesc. Psychiatr. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.17241\/smr.2019.00465","article-title":"Multidisciplinary approach in a 12-year-old patient affected by severe obstructive sleep apnea: A case-report","volume":"10","author":"Bignotti","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sleep Med. Res."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1080\/07420520500545979","article-title":"Social Jetlag: Misalignment of biological and social time","volume":"23","author":"Dinich","year":"2006","journal-title":"Chronobiol. Int."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2016.07.004","article-title":"Sleep, sleep deprivation, autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular diseases","volume":"74","author":"Tobaldini","year":"2017","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2869.1996.00251.x","article-title":"The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Construction and validation of an instrument to evaluate sleep disturbances in childhood and adolescence","volume":"5","author":"Bruni","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Sleep Res."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1447","DOI":"10.1093\/sleep\/33.11.1447","article-title":"The association between sleep-disordered breathing, academic grades, and cognitive functioning in children","volume":"33","author":"Beebe","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sleep"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e13948","DOI":"10.1111\/jsr.13948","article-title":"External validity of the reduced Morningness\u2013Eveningness Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents: An actigraphic study","volume":"33","author":"Tonetti","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Sleep Res."}],"container-title":["Children"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/12\/4\/489\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:12:14Z","timestamp":1760029934000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/12\/4\/489"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]]},"references-count":13,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4]]}},"alternative-id":["children12040489"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/children12040489","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-9067"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2227-9067","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]]}}}