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Potentially harmful sleep habits of 3-year-old children in Japan

Jun Kohyama1, Toshihide Shiiki, Junko Ohinata-Sugimoto

  • 1Division of Human Ontogeny and Childhood Development, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. jkohyama.ped@tmd.ac.jp

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP
|April 11, 2002
PubMed

Insights

Many 3-year-olds sleep late, with nearly half falling asleep after 10 p.m. Later bedtimes are linked to shorter sleep duration, potentially impacting young children's health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Child Health

Background:

  • Adequate sleep is crucial for child development.
  • Understanding sleep patterns in early childhood is essential for identifying potential health risks.
  • Late sleep onset has been associated with negative outcomes in older populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sleep habits of 3-year-old children.
  • To determine the prevalence of late sleep onset in this age group.
  • To explore the relationship between sleep onset time and sleep duration, as well as anthropometric measurements.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 1105 guardians of 3-year-old children.
  • Data collected via questionnaires during routine health examinations at a public health center.
  • Analysis of nocturnal sleep onset time, wake-up time, nocturnal sleep duration, nap duration, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI).

Main Results:

  • 49.6% of 3-year-olds fell asleep at 10 p.m. or later.
  • Later nocturnal sleep onset was significantly correlated with later wake-up times and shorter nocturnal sleep duration.
  • Total daily sleep duration in regular nappers negatively correlated with nocturnal sleep onset time.
  • No significant correlation was found between sleep onset time and height, weight, or BMI.

Conclusions:

  • Late sleep onset is common among 3-year-olds.
  • Children with later bedtimes tend to have shorter overall sleep durations.
  • Late sleep onset in early childhood may pose health risks, similar to those observed in older individuals, warranting further investigation.

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