The most frequent of sleep disorders in children are repeated and prolonged wakeful periods. One month old infants are normally awake during one-third of the nocturnal sleeping time. Gradually, sleep moves into night and wakefulness into daytime. At 3 years, 25 to 38% of children wake up during the night, but after 5 years this proportion becomes negligible. Apart from acute or chronic diseases which may produce sleep disorders, most of these are due to environmental factors. Two syndrome are worthy of special mention: deficiency of slow wave and deep sleep in psychosocial dwarfism, and insomnia due to intolerance to cow's milk. Treatment of insomniac children rests on behavioural techniques: parents must be helped to understand and observe the sleep-wake rhythm of their children and teach them to acquire regular sleeping habits.
儿童中最常见的睡眠障碍是反复出现且持续时间较长的清醒期。1个月大的婴儿通常在夜间睡眠时间的三分之一时间内处于清醒状态。渐渐地，睡眠转移到夜间，清醒转移到白天。3岁时，25%至38%的儿童夜间会醒来，但5岁以后这个比例就可以忽略不计了。除了可能导致睡眠障碍的急性或慢性疾病外，大多数此类情况是由环境因素引起的。有两种综合征值得特别提及：心理社会侏儒症中的慢波睡眠和深度睡眠不足，以及对牛奶不耐受导致的失眠。失眠儿童的治疗依赖于行为技巧：必须帮助父母了解并观察孩子的睡眠-清醒节律，并教导他们养成规律的睡眠习惯。
