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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 1 | Page : 177 |
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How to deal with coronosomnia in children?
Zeinab Hemati1, Motahar Heidari-Beni2, Shahrzad Mortazavi3, Roya Kelishadi1
1 Department of Pediatrics, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of Nutrition, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Fellow Resident of Neuropsychiatry, Psychiatry Department, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| Date of Submission | 20-Jun-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 27-Jun-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 30-Dec-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Motahar Heidari-Beni
Assistant Professor, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_280_21
How to cite this article:
Hemati Z, Heidari-Beni M, Mortazavi S, Kelishadi R. How to deal with coronosomnia in children?. Int J Prev Med 2021;12:177 |
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak affected all normal routine activities. It has led to considerable negative effects on children's mental health. Quarantine, social distancing, and school closures have led to anxiety and stress and at the final step, they affect the quality of children's daily lives. Still the evidence related to COVID-19 outbreak and mental health is limited in the pediatric age group.[1],[2] These days, we are facing a new sleep problem, named coronosomnia.
Lack of accurate and exact information about the disease and its treatment increases the risk of anxiety and worry in families including children. Because of quarantine, children have limited outdoor activities without sports, entertainment, and hobbies with their friends. Thus, it is important to manage the anxiety of children in COVID-19 crisis. Mental disorders and consequent sleep difficulties would increase the problems of daytime well-being and sleep. However, more information is needed about the association between COVID-19 crisis and sleep. It seems that sleep problems are increasing during COVID-19 pandemic in children.[2]
Insufficient sleep negatively affects academic performance and the quality of children's schedules. In addition, inadequate sleep increases the risk of growth disorders, hypertension, obesity, depression, and diabetes; moreover, it has negative effects on the immune system.[3]
Therefore, inadequate sleep can be considered a risk factor for the progression of COVID-19 to its severe types. Having sufficient sleep is recommended for the prevention of diseases related to the immune system.[4]
High-quality night's sleep can improve mood, behavior, and attention among children and adolescents. Sleep loss might increase behavior changes, attention difficulties, and memory problems in children. Consequently, the home environment will not be a relaxing place for learning and academic functioning during the pandemic.[5],[6] Some recommendations are suggested for reducing the stress of COVID-19 pandemic and improving the sleep pattern:
- Finding practical ways to deal with stress and anxiety in children, pProviding a safe and supportive environment for expressing emotions and providing creative activity including playing or drawing can facilitate this process. Expressing emotions would increase relaxation.
- Avoiding the separation of children and their parents.
- Giving correct information about COVID-19 to children in honest and age-appropriate way.
- As children learn from adults in their behaviors and emotions during difficult times, adults should be kept relaxed in critical situations.[7]
In summary, limited information exists about COVID-19 in relation to its effect on sleep in children. However, support and encouragement of children to get sufficient and adequate sleep is very important for proper growth and development. The importance of the correlation between sleep and COVID-19 crisis during this pandemic that families confront with lifestyle changes and concern about their own health and their children is highlighted. We need to improve people's knowledge about the importance of sleep and healthy sleep practice in this crisis.
| References | |  |
| 1. | |
| 2. | Becker SP, Gregory AM. Editorial perspective: Perils and promise for child and adolescent sleep and associated psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020;61:757-9.  |
| 3. | Yousfi N, Bragazzi NL, Briki W, Zmijewski P, Chamari K. The COVID-19 pandemic: How to maintain a healthy immune system during the lockdown - a multidisciplinary approach with special focus on athletes. Biol Sport 2020;37:211-6. |
| 4. | Besedovsky L, Lange T, Haack M. The sleep-immune crosstalk in health and disease. Physiol Rev 2019;99:1325-80. |
| 5. | Spinelli M, Lionetti F, Pastore M, Fasolo M. Parents' stress and children's psychological problems in families facing the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. Front Psychol 2020;11:1713. |
| 6. | Hershner SD, Chervin RD. Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nat Sci Sleep 2014;6:73-84. |
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