Adaptability of sleep and the ‘sleep privilege’: the need for new research
How much should parents and caregivers worry about sub-optimal sleep? This issue was recently brought to our attention by Professor Alice M Gregory, a keynote speaker at the recently launched Down Syndrome and Sleep Research Network (DSSRN).
Sleep issues are over-represented and under-researched in the Down syndrome community. This gap is a driving motive for the DSSRN, and through this new research network, we hope to accelerate knowledge and effective interventions in this area.
The effect of broken sleep often weighs on parents and carers. This includes the health impact of poor sleep on family members with Down syndrome, but also the consequences of long-term interrupted sleep on caregivers themselves.
Prof Gregory has been involved in research with particular interest for caregivers. Her presentation at the DSSRN launch, “Type 1 diabetes as a prototypical condition challenging what we know about sleep”, opened up very interesting considerations about the pitfalls of an exaggerated focus and concern about quantifying and qualifying sleep.
Sleep is certainly more important for health and development than we have realised historically, but there are adaptive patterns that are even less understood, which may help compensate for some quantifiable sleep deficits.
This ability to adapt is also an under-researched area. Exploring this further will bring solid evidence that can help shape practice and guidance. This may be very good news for many people who simply cannot secure the ‘sleep privileges’ that others enjoy, and may ease some of the worries that come along with poor sleep.
We believe that this topic is just one of many areas that will benefit from the support of the DSSRN, bringing researchers together to change what we know about sleep in the DS community.
For further details on this topic, you can read a newly published editorial in the Journal for Child Psychology and Psychiatry, by Professor Alice Gregory et al, “Sleep privilege – research and clinical recommendations for when sleep cannot be optimal”.
