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Published on: October 2, 2019
School-Based Sleep Education Programs for Short Sleep Duration in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Ka-Fai Chung1, Man-Sum Chan2, Ying-Yin Lam3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Background:
Insufficient sleep among students is a major school health problem. School-based sleep education programs tailored to reach large number of students may be one of the solutions. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the programs' effectiveness and current status.
Methods:
Electronic databases were searched up until May 2015. Randomized controlled trials of school-based sleep intervention among 10- to 19-year-old students with outcome on total sleep duration were included. Methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane's risk of bias assessment.
Results:
Seven studies were included, involving 1876 students receiving sleep education programs and 2483 attending classes-as-usual. Four weekly 50-minute sleep education classes were most commonly provided. Methodological quality was only moderate, with a high or an uncertain risk of bias in several domains. Compared to classes-as-usual, sleep education programs produced significantly longer weekday and weekend total sleep time and better mood among students at immediate post-treatment, but the improvements were not maintained at follow-up.
Conclusions:
Limited by the small number of studies and methodological limitations, the preliminary data showed that school-based sleep education programs produced short-term benefits. Future studies should explore integrating sleep education with delayed school start time or other more effective approaches.
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