The Emergence of Pediatric Sleep Medicine

Abstract

his chapter delineates the evolution of the infancy, childhood, and adolescence sleep research in the past decades. The process of the unveiling of infants and children sleep disorders is depicted since its beginning in the nineteenth century, with the increasing awareness of the existence of specific pediatric sleep disorders that need specialized attention and treatment. The contribution of the observation of infant sleep to the discovery of rapid eye movement sleep is also reported, followed by the process that led to the definition of sleep architecture during development. This chapter also briefly lists the contribution by outstanding researchers from different countries and tells the tale of the establishment of the scientific associations now active in the field of pediatric sleep medicine. As a conclusive remark, the chapter shows that almost all studies have demonstrated that practically all sleep disorders have a negative impact on the child health. The field of pediatric sleep medicine is a growing field of research with great possibilities of expansion and dynamic evolution.