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Sleep quantity, quality and optimism in children

Sakari Lemola1, Katri Räikkönen, Michael F Scheier

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Journal of Sleep Research
|June 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Sufficient sleep quantity and quality in children are linked to greater optimism and positive traits. Optimal sleep duration, not too little or too much, correlated with higher optimism in 8-year-olds.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Sleep Science
  • Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

  • Childhood positive characteristics like optimism and self-esteem are crucial for well-being.
  • The role of objective sleep measures in relation to these traits requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between objectively measured sleep quantity and quality and positive child characteristics.
  • To determine if sleep duration, latency, and efficiency relate to optimism, self-esteem, and social competence in 8-year-old children.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized actigraphy to objectively measure sleep parameters (duration, latency, efficiency) over 3-14 nights in 291 children aged 8.
  • Collected parent/teacher ratings for children's optimism, self-esteem, and social competence.
  • Employed statistical analyses to assess relationships, controlling for covariates like age, sex, BMI, and parental education/optimism.

Main Results:

  • A non-linear, reverse J-shaped relationship was found between sleep duration and optimism (P=0.02).
  • Children with mid-range sleep durations exhibited higher optimism than those sleeping very little.
  • Shorter sleep latency was significantly associated with higher optimism (P=0.01).

Conclusions:

  • Objective measures of sufficient sleep quantity and good sleep quality are positively associated with children's positive psychological characteristics.
  • These findings highlight the importance of sleep for fostering optimism and potentially other positive traits in childhood.
  • The results contribute to understanding the link between sleep, positive characteristics, and overall child well-being.

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