Huang, Su-Fen, Duan, Hui-Ying · Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at whether sleep habits and diet affect fatigue in young children (age 5) in Taiwan by asking parents about their children's sleep and eating patterns. The researchers found that children who slept well, got enough sleep, and had regular bedtimes felt less tired, while children with poor sleep quality felt more fatigued. Interestingly, eating regular, balanced meals seemed to help some children, but the connection wasn't as clear.
While this study focuses on preschoolers rather than typical ME/CFS populations, it provides evidence that sleep quality and scheduling significantly influence fatigue symptoms in young children, which may have implications for understanding fatigue mechanisms and management strategies. For ME/CFS patients and researchers, identifying modifiable sleep factors associated with fatigue severity could inform non-pharmacological intervention development.
This study does not establish causation—improved sleep may reduce fatigue, but alternatively, less fatigued children may naturally sleep better. The study cannot definitively diagnose ME/CFS in preschoolers using parental questionnaires alone, and findings may not generalize beyond the Taiwanese population studied. Additionally, the weak dietary associations mean this study does not rule out important nutritional factors in fatigue management.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Huang, Su-Fen & Duan, Hui-Ying (2023). Sleeping and Dietary Factors Associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Taiwanese Preschoolers.. Children (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071149
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-huang-2023-sleeping-dietary,
author = {Huang, Su-Fen and Duan, Hui-Ying},
title = {Sleeping and Dietary Factors Associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Taiwanese Preschoolers.},
journal = {Children (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3390/children10071149},
note = {PubMed: 37508645},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/huang-2023-sleeping-dietary},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/huang-2023-sleeping-dietary
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.