Sleep, Nutrition and Psychological Functioning in Kindergarten Children

Sleep, Nutrition and Psychological Functioning in Kindergarten Children: A Longitudinal Intervention Study

The proposed study has the following aims: (a) to assess the concomitant and longitudinal links between sleep and cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in kindergarten children; (b) to assess the immediate and the long-term effects of an intervention to promote healthy sleep habits (HSI) on the child's evolving sleep patterns, as well as on related cognitive, behavioral and health domains; (c) to assess the immediate and the long-term effects of an intervention deigned to promote healthy nutrition (HNI) on the eating habits of children, their weight and BMI measures (the comparison/control group) and (d) to assess the links between eating habits and sleep in kindergarten children.

The main hypotheses of the proposed study are: (a) Shorter and more disrupted sleep would be concomitantly and longitudinally associated with compromised cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning in kindergarten children; (b) In comparison to the HNI group, children in the HSI group will extend their total sleep time, improve their sleep quality and their sleep schedule will be more stable following the intervention; (c) improvement in sleep habits will be associated with improvement in cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning; (d) in comparison to the HIS group, children in the HNI group will improve their eating habits, engage in more physical activities and better manage to achieve and maintain an age-appropriate body weight.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Preschool children (aged 3-6 years) and their parents

Exclusion Criteria:

• (a) significant health or neurological-developmental problems; (b) severe psychological problems, psychiatric diagnosis or treatment; (c) concurrent psychotherapy or similar interventions; (d) medical sleep problems (e.g., sleep apnea); (e) lack of mastery in Hebrew.