Sleep macrostructure of children with high intellectual potential (HP).

Summary Objective To study the sleep characteristics of HP children and to analyze the responses to questionnaires according to their cognitive profile. Methods Retrospective multicenter study. Thirty HPI children . age 10.7 ± 2.3 years . 20 boys . were seen in consultation in the department of child and adolescent psychopathology of the neurological hospital and in the pediatric sleep unit of the hospital Femme-Mere-Enfant. The control children . n = 28 . age 10.2 ± 2.3 years . 17 boys . were obtained in collaboration with the cognitive science laboratory of the University of Lyon 2. All the children benefited from an ambulatory polysomnographic recording and answered standardized questionnaires. Results Compared to control children, HPI children had significantly less L1 (10.1% vs 11.9%, p = 0.041) and more MS (22.6% vs 18.4%, p = 0.003). The percentage of SP was positively correlated with almost all WISC indices (except IVT). Questionnaire analysis showed a significant difference between HP children and controls for severity of insomnia, hyperactivity and anxiety. Those with a heterogeneous cognitive profile (ICV-IRP ≥ 15) have higher scores for insomnia severity ( p = 0.016), hyperactivity ( p = 0.037) and anxiety disorders ( p = 0.046). Conclusion The percentage of REM sleep is related to intellectual efficiency. The HP children with a heterogeneous profile complain more of insomnia and have more anxiety and depressive disorders.