P113 Self-reported sleep and age effects on executive function in children

Abstract Introduction There is growing concern about declining sleep duration among children, with factors such as increased screen time, later bedtimes, and lifestyle changes contributing to poorer sleep quality. While sleep is typically measured using objective methods like polysomnography and actigraphy, these methods lack a valuable subjective perspective that can be provided by self-report tools. The present study investigated the effects of sleep quality and age on executive functions (EFs) in typically developing children aged 7 to 12 years. Methods One hundred and seventy children completed working memory (WM), inhibitory control (IC), and cognitive flexibility (CF) tasks to measure EF performance. Sleep quality was measured using the Children’s Report of Sleep Patterns (CRSP), a validated self-report tool that measures sleep duration as well as subjective sleep experiences. Results Findings indicate significant age effects, with older children outperforming younger children across most EF components (p<.05), reflecting significant developmental trends. Significant associations were found between sleep quality and both IC-Performance (F(1, 164) = 6.59, p=.011) and CF through Shape Errors (F(1, 163) = 11.65, p<.001), with no relationship observed between sleep quality and WM. Discussion These findings suggest sleep quality may have a task-specific effect, particularly in EF tasks requiring attentional control and cognitive flexibility. Overall, this study highlights age-related developmental improvements in EF, contributing to the literature on cognitive development. The current results underscore the importance of sleep quality and its impacts. Improving sleep quality could enhance and support children’s cognitive well-being during critical developmental stages.