The sleep in children

Abstract

Sleep is an activity of brain and body very dynamic, which are carried out vital processes of immune and endocrine system, but also activities related to mental processes. Sleep architecture varies from a pre-sleep state in the early fetal stage, the dream of infant and toddler up to adult sleep architecture to three years.It recognizes the phases of sleep called REM sleep and non REM alternation whose in repeated cycles which at night is called ultradian rhythm. The duration and characteristics of these stages vary in relation to the maturation of the central nervous system that is critical during the first three years of life. The regulation of sleep depends on circadian rhythm (day-night), and homeostatic processes that are generated in the vigil, the hypothetical accumulation of certain substances that lead to sleep and are depleted during sleep. Sleep disorders in both quantity (deprivation) and quality (alteration of the architecture), which occur at times early in life may have important implications for the developing nervous system especially with regard to developing sensorineural (disorganization visual and auditory systems), processes of learning, memory, and the preservation of neuronal plasticity.