# Prevention Strategies to Enhance Young Children's Sleep Development

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2024 · $282,597

## Abstract

Healthy sleep is pivotal for children’s development. Sleep problems (i.e., late bedtime, insufficient sleep, 
inconsistent sleep patterns) can lead to impaired cognition, behavioral difficulties, decrement in academic 
performance, and increased risk of developing obesity. Developing healthy sleep habits is especially important 
for 4–6-year-olds as routines shift when children transition from variable preschool environments to a more 
structured elementary school setting. However, few studies have harnessed the unique partnerships between 
teachers and parents in preventing suboptimal child sleep. Therefore, innovative strategies are needed to target 
healthy sleep development – which may provide benefit across multiple domains ultimately enhancing children’s 
sleep behavior and daytime functioning in the classroom (e.g., attention, disruptive behavior, prosocial behavior). 
This project builds upon the Developmental Ecological Transition to Kindergarten model, which posits that 
supportive alignment across settings (i.e., home and school) is essential for child well-being during transitions 
into school. Guided by the ORBIT intervention development framework to systematically co-develop a schooland 
home-based sleep promotion intervention with key stakeholders (kindergarten teachers and parents), this 
project refines a sleep promotion intervention for kindergarten children via teacher and parent focus groups (Aim 
1), tests the intervention strategies for proof-of-concept in a single group design (Aim 2, n=1 school), and pilot 
tests the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary signal of effect in a randomized controlled trial (Aim 3, n=4 
schools). In Aims 2 and 3, data are collected on feasibility and acceptability (via observation and self-report), 
child sleep (via wrist-worn accelerometry), and child classroom behavior (via teacher report). The project will 
provide critical data for the development of a fully powered trial designed to simultaneously improve children’s 
sleep and social-emotional well-being around the time of school entry.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10802442
- **Project number:** 5P20GM130420-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Burkart
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $282,597
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-15 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10802442

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10802442, Prevention Strategies to Enhance Young Children's Sleep Development (5P20GM130420-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10802442. Licensed CC0.

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