Relying on children and families to report concerns can be a missed opportunity to identify sleep disturbances early. The most endorsed treatment, sleep hygiene, is likely ineffective as a standalone treatment for complex sleep disturbances seen in oncology. It is possible that offering patients these simple but likely ineffective treatments alone may perpetuate long-term sleep disturbances and a lack of confidence in the ability to effectively treat sleep. Further research is needed to determine the most effective treatment approaches for behavioral sleep disturbances, informing clinical practice guidelines for pediatric oncology.
Daniel et al. (Sun,) studied this question.