Why Do We Sleep and What is Happening When Children Sleep?

Although much about the purpose of sleep remains a mystery, its critical role in the health and well being of a person is crystal clear. Far from being a passive state, sleep is an active and wellorganized process that is both required and highly conserved. Many important bodily functions are altered during sleep, and still others follow a circadian regularity that is complemented by sleep. When sleep is deprived, disrupted, or abnormal because of an underlying sleep or nervous system disorder, optimal learning, development, and overall functioning are adversely affected. Indeed, normal sleep is critical to the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development and functioning of each of us and, therefore, the recognition of sleep difficulties and disorders in childhood is central to pediatric practice.