Sleep Behavior and Sleep Regulation from Infancy through Adolescence: Normative Aspects

Knowledge of what constitutes normal sleep behavior during development is a prerequisite for understanding sleep disorders in children and adolescents. This article describes normal sleep patterns in children and adolescents, depicts sleep stages and sleep electrophysiology, and identifies changes in sleep-wake (homeostatic) and circadian regulatory processes across early human development. Two basic principles guide the consideration of normal sleep during childhood: sleep patterns exhibit large variability among children, and sleep behavior must be viewed within a biopsychosocial framework.