Sleep in Children and Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Sleep problems are not a core feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but emerging empirical data indicate some form of sleep disruption to be highly common. Available research in both adult and child patients is limited in several important ways, including the use of subjective reports (particularly in children), high rates of comorbid depression, and concurrent use of psychotropic medication. The presence of sleep disruption in OCD patients may compound severity and impairment of the disorder. More research is needed to fully understand the nature and consequences of sleep-wake disruption in children with OCD.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anxiety disorder; Bedtime resistance; Children; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Presleep arousal; Sleep-onset latency; Total sleep time.