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Primary School Children's Sleep Habits: Association with Socioeconomic Factors and Physical Activity Habits
Anabela Afonso1,2, Gonçalo Jacinto1,2, Paulo Infante1,2
1CIMA, IIFA, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal.
Insights
Portuguese primary school children with poor sleep habits, like late bedtimes and electronic devices in bedrooms, experience more sleep disturbances. Physical activity positively impacts sleep duration and quality.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Sleep Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Sleep disorders significantly impact children's health, academic performance, and overall well-being.
- Understanding sleep habits in primary school children is crucial for early intervention and promoting healthy development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize sleep habits of Portuguese primary school children.
- To investigate the influence of socioeconomic factors, lifestyle, electronic device use, and physical activity on sleep.
- To identify clinical factors associated with insufficient sleep duration.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 1438 primary school students.
- Sleep habits and problems were assessed using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ).
- Data analysis considered factors like age, proximity to school, electronic device presence, meal times, and physical and sports activity (PSA).
Main Results:
- The average sleep duration was 9 hours and 37 minutes per night.
- A prevalence of 25.8% for global sleep disturbances was observed.
- Factors associated with sleep deficit (<10 hours) included older age (>7 years), longer distance from school, electronic devices in the bedroom, later bedtimes and dinner, less daily PSA, and higher scores on sleep duration subscales.
Conclusions:
- Sleeping and eating habits, bedroom electronic device presence, and low engagement in physical and sports activity are linked to sleep disturbances and shorter sleep duration in children.
- These findings highlight modifiable lifestyle factors that can be targeted to improve children's sleep health.
- Interventions focusing on sleep hygiene, limiting screen time, and promoting physical activity are recommended for Portuguese primary school children.
Abstract:
Sleep disorders have significant health impacts and affect children’s performance and wellbeing. This study aims to characterise the sleep habits of Portuguese primary school children considering socioeconomic factors, daily lifestyle, presence of electronic devices in the bedrooms, and the practice of physical and sports activity (PSA) and to identify clinical factors that may be related to a child’s insufficient sleeping time. This study involved 1438 primary students. Sleep habits and problems were assessed using the short version of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). The mean sleep duration was 9 h 37 min/ per night (SD = 44 min). The prevalence of global sleep disturbances was 25.8%. The main factors we identified to be positively associated with a child’s sleep deficit (i.e., <10 h) were: being older than 7 years, living further away from school, having electronic devices in the bedroom, going to bed and eating dinner later, less daily time of PSA, and having higher scores on the sleep duration subscales. Sleeping and eating habits, electronic devices in the bedroom, and a low level of engagement with PSA are associated with children’s sleep disturbance and shorter sleep duration.
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