Sleepless Kids Stat

Sleep "is an important but underrecognized component of wellness in children," Columbia University researchers note in a recent supplement to the prestigious journal Pediatrics. That's why it's disturbing that their new nationally representative survey of U.S. children finds that "[a]pproximately 15 million American children are affected by inadequate sleep." Many of these children also had mood disorders--chiefly depression--headaches, and allergies. Moreover, the scientists found, contrary to many smaller studies, this one documented that childhood sleep deprivation "transcends all culture."

Source: Smaldone, A, J.C. Honig, and M.W. Byrne. 2007. Sleepless in America: Inadequate Sleep and Relationships to Health and Well-being of Our Nation's Children. Pediatrics 119, Supplement 1(February):S29.