Children who were born at a relatively small size may be more likely than their peers to have sleep difficulties, a new study suggests.
The study, which included 289 8-year-olds born healthy and full-term, found that the lower the children's weight and length at birth, the greater their odds of having poor sleep or sleep disturbances such as sleep-related breathing problems or nightmares.
What's more, mothers' prenatal drinking -- a habit that can impair fetal growth and development -- was linked to a greater risk of childhood sleep problems.
It's possible that in some children, smaller birth size is a marker of alterations in nervous system development, which might affect the body's sleep regulation later in life, the researchers report in the journal Sleep
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