Sleep in children exposed to adverse or traumatic events

Sleep disturbances, particularly nightmares and insomnia, are prototypic symptoms of traumatic stress exposure and subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Currently, most research of trauma-related sleep disturbance (TRSD) focuses on adult populations, while less is known about the nature of sleep disturbance in trauma-exposed youth, despite that many children and adolescents will experience at least one potentially traumatic event before adulthood. This article reviews the existing research of the intersection between sleep and traumatic stress exposure in youth, which provides valuable insight to the developmental course of TRSD and associated functional consequences across the lifespan.