On Demand Library

2009-12-02

 
 

Dr. Judith Owens, MD, MPH

How Important is Sleep to Your Childs Health?

One of the most pressing problems that most families face nowadays is sleeping problems in children. Often children face problems like bed wetting, insomnia, snoring, waking up often during the night and even faking sleep. These issues in sleep habits for children can be frustrating for the family. But, we also need to understand that children are going through a terrible stage. Dr. Judith Owens joins the show to discuss how important sleep is to our kids!

Dr. Judith Owens is an internationally-recognized authority on pediatric sleep and the author of over 100 original research and review articles in peer-review journals, chapters, and books on the topic. Her particular research interests are in the neurobehavioral and health consequences of sleep problems in children, pharmacologic treatment of pediatric sleep disorders, sleep health education, and cultural and psychosocial issues impacting on sleep. As a recipient of a 5-year NIH grant in sleep education, the Sleep Academic Award, she has developed educational materials for the Brown Medical School, as well as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Dr. Owens received the AASM 2006 Excellence in Education Award, and recently completed a 4 year term as the Chair of the AASM Section on Childhood Sleep Disorders and Development.

Dr. Owens is the Director of the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the Learning, Attention, and Behavior Program at Rhode Island Hospital. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown and a Master’s in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota. She completed pediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and fellowships in Behavioral Pediatrics at Minneapolis Children’s Medical Center and in Child Psychiatry at Brown University. She is board certified in Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics and Sleep Medicine, and is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Brown Medical School.

Melanie Cole, M.S.