Pilot 3
Katherine Wilson, MD
Department of Neurology,
Universityof Michigan
Biography
Dr. Wilson is a Sleep Research Fellow supported by an NIH T32 training grant in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan. She is also a Clinical Lecturer in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Wilson completed a pediatrics residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and then a sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Michigan, to become one of the few pediatricians nationwide to combine these areas of expertise. This fall, she will begin a master’s program in Clinical Research Design and Biostatistics at the Rackham Graduate School. Dr. Wilson’s research focuses on a virtually unexplored area: challenges to healthy sleep among preschool and elementary school children in urban, low socioeconomic settings. Dr. Wilson works with community-based organizations to investigate sleep habits and conditions, identify physical and behavioral barriers to adequate sleep, and assess for possible daytime consequences of poor sleep, such as behavioral problems or impaired school performance. Dr. Wilson also plans to evaluate the impact of a sleep education program designed for preschool children and families involved in Head Start programs. The hope is that demonstration of improved sleep habits and sleep quality at young ages could help to justify further intervention, and research to show impact on key daytime outcomes.
Research Abstract
Sleep habits and environments, and intervention to improve them, for preschool children in low socioeconomic settings
Sufficient sleep of good quality is a prerequisite for both mental and physical health in children. Childhood sleep problems are associated with cognitive and behavioral problems, and poor school performance, all of which tend to improve when optimal sleep is restored. Unfortunately, preliminary studies suggest that children are increasingly sleep deprived, and that the problem may start very early. Unfortunately, virtually no organized efforts are made in schools or preschool programs to emphasize the importance of good sleep. Children living in urban, lower socioeconomic households are at particular risk for poor sleep environments and sleep habits. An effective sleep education intervention for these children could have a positive impact not only on physical health and development, but also on academic readiness and the so-called “achievement gap”. Low-income preschool children, like those enrolled in Head Start, are at significant risk for inadequate sleep as measured by both quality and quantity. Income determination for Head Start is based on the federal poverty guidelines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many local schoolchildren, for example in Detroit, Lansing, and Jackson, may not have beds; must share beds with one or more family members; do not sleep in heated quarters; or do not have quiet and safe places to sleep. The extent to which these adverse sleep environments may affect sleep duration, quality, and associated cognitive and behavioral function has yet to be evaluated. The main objectives of this study, therefore, are to: 1) examine sleep habits and symptoms of inadequate sleep among preschool children in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods of Southeastern Michigan, 2) assess the sleep conditions of these children and possible effects on daytime function, and 3) evaluate a sleep education program designed for both parents and their preschoolers who are enrolled in the Head Start program. Several partners in the proposed research will include Sweet Dreamzzz, a community-based organization dedicated to education of children and families on the importance of sleep; well-established University of Michigan investigators with expertise in child behavior and considerable existing research infrastructure in low socioeconomic neighborhoods; and Michigan Head Start programs that already collaborate with these investigators to study and assist at-risk preschool children. Sweet Dreamzzz, Inc. was started in 1998, and has since organized volunteers to bring fun, inspiring, and age-appropriate education about the importance of good sleep to more than 30,000 impoverished school-aged children in the Detroit Public School System. The Early Childhood Sleep Program is a sleep education program designed by Sweet Dreamzzz to focus on the needs of preschool-aged children and their parents. Through the Early Childhood Sleep Program, Sweet Dreamzzz will teach Head Start teachers, students, and parents why sleep is important, and how children should get ready for bed each night. If appropriate sleep routines and expectations can be established at preschool ages, the hope is that children will be on track to enjoy healthier lifestyles and more effective learning in elementary school. The impact of sleep education for parents and their preschool children is completely unstudied, but could prove to be substantial. The planned research will evaluate a new educational module designed to emphasize the importance of both sleep quality and quantity for preschool age children. Formal assessment of the needs of urban preschool children and the current knowledge base of parents in lower socioeconomic households may allow for further optimization of the educational module, and could justify continued support for the intervention and research on its impact.