Sounding the Alarm on Sleep: A Negative Association Between Inadequate Sleep and Flourishing
Hoi See Tsao1, Annie Gjelsvik2, Sakina Sojar1
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI; Department of Pediatrics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI; School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Insights
Inadequate sleep affects one-third of school-age children, impacting their flourishing. Addressing sleep duration is crucial for optimizing child development and academic success.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Sleep Science
- Child Development
Background:
- Sleep is vital for cognitive and emotional development in children.
- Inadequate sleep duration is a growing concern among school-aged populations.
- Childhood flourishing encompasses multiple domains of well-being and academic engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the national prevalence of insufficient sleep duration among school-age children in the United States.
- To investigate the association between inadequate sleep and various indicators of childhood flourishing.
- To provide data for informing sleep policies and interventions to support child development.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing data from 49,050 parental responses in the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health.
- Defined inadequate sleep duration as <9 hours for ages 6-12 and <8 hours for ages 13-17 on average weeknights.
- Employed logistic regression with complex survey design and applied weights to analyze relationships between sleep and flourishing markers.
Main Results:
- 36.4% of 6-12 year olds and 31.9% of 13-17 year olds experienced inadequate sleep.
- Inadequate sleep was significantly associated with lower odds of interest in learning, academic engagement, and task completion in both age groups.
- Older children with insufficient sleep also showed reduced odds of remaining calm under challenge and overall flourishing.
Conclusions:
- Approximately one-third of school-aged children nationally do not get adequate sleep.
- Insufficient sleep is linked to diminished flourishing across multiple developmental domains.
- Findings underscore the importance of adequate sleep for promoting healthy child development and academic outcomes.
Objective:
To assess the national prevalence of inadequate sleep among school-age children and its relationship with childhood flourishing.
Study Design:
This cross-sectional study analyzed 49 050 parental responses from the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health for school-age children. Inadequate sleep duration was defined as <9 hours for 6- to 12-year-olds and <8 hours for 13- to 17-year-olds on an average weeknight. Five markers of flourishing were examined individually and as a combined measure. Logistic regression was used with complex survey design and applied weights.
Results:
Inadequate sleep was found in 36.4% of 6- to 12-year-olds and in 31.9% of 13- to 17-year-olds. Compared with children with adequate sleep, 6- to 12-year-olds with inadequate sleep had increased odds of not showing interest and curiosity in learning (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.34-1.94), not caring about doing well in school (aOR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.23-1.71), not doing homework (aOR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.24-1.68), and not finishing tasks (aOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03-1.35). Children aged 13-17 years with inadequate sleep had increased odds of not doing homework (aOR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.17-1.58), not staying calm and in control when challenged (aOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16-1.54), not showing interest and curiosity in learning (aOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.14-1.58), not finishing tasks (aOR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.03-1.40), and not demonstrating the combined flourishing measure (aOR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.17-1.56).
Conclusions:
Nationally representative data show that one-third of school-age children have inadequate sleep. Inadequate sleep is associated with decreased flourishing. These data will help inform sleep policies and optimize child development.
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