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Sleep behavior in an urban US sample of school-aged children

James C Spilsbury1, Amy Storfer-Isser, Dennis Drotar

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Behavioral Pediatrics and Psychology, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-6038, USA. jcs5@po.cwru.edu

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|October 7, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Elementary school children, especially minority boys, experience insufficient sleep, with delayed bedtimes contributing to sleep restriction. Understanding ethnic disparities in sleep patterns is crucial for intervention.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Science
  • Child Health and Development
  • Sociodemographic Influences on Sleep

Background:

  • Adequate sleep is vital for elementary school-aged children's health and development.
  • Previous research indicates potential variations in sleep duration and patterns among children.
  • Understanding these variations is essential for identifying at-risk populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the sleep behavior of elementary school-aged children.
  • To investigate how sleep patterns vary by age, sex, and ethnicity.
  • To identify factors associated with insufficient sleep in this demographic.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional analysis of 755 children aged 8-11 years.
  • Data collected via child-completed sleep journals and caregiver questionnaires.
  • Key metrics included mean nightly sleep duration and bedtime adherence.

Main Results:

  • Overall mean sleep duration was 9.63 hours, with significant decreases associated with older age and male sex.
  • Minority boys exhibited the shortest sleep duration and were more likely to have later bedtimes (≥11 pm).
  • Forty-three percent of older minority boys slept less than 9 hours nightly, compared to other subgroups.

Conclusions:

  • A significant portion of elementary schoolchildren experience insufficient sleep (<9 hours).
  • Emerging sleep restriction is evident in preadolescents, particularly ethnic minorities, with delayed bedtimes.
  • Ethnic differences in sleep behavior necessitate further research into social and environmental influences.
Abstract

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