A review of evidence for the claim that children are sleeping less than in the past.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The notion that children are sleeping less than they used to is widespread. This study examined the strength of the evidence for this idea by tracing a "scholarly genealogy" of the claims presented within the literature.

DESIGN

A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to identify claims of a secular trend in children's sleep. For each identified claim, the references cited were reviewed.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

The review identified 51 studies. Of these, 17 evinced evidence (2 reported increases, 3 reported no change, 6 reported mixed trends, 6 reported decreases) and 34 provided statements without evidence. Although the evidence that sleep duration has declined is contested, all 34 studies reported a decline. Examination of the references cited revealed that 17 papers referred directly to studies which provided evidence, 4 papers referred indirectly to studies which provided evidence, 9 papers did not provide any evidence and 4 papers referred to studies which could not be located. Of the papers that did provide evidence, 85% referred to one of 3 sources of evidence, each of which was of moderate quality.

CONCLUSIONS

The genealogy of the notion of secular declines in children's sleep reveals a limited scientific basis. The apparent evidence base is inflated by repeated references to the same sources of evidence, reference to secondary sources, mis-referencing, and a failure to cite contrary evidence.