"How Do Greeks Sleep?" A Cross-Sectional Study among Indigenous and Minority Populations

Objective: To investigate sleep habits and their potential relationship with several sociodemographic, lifestyle and health related characteristics among indigenous and minority populations in Northeastern Greece. Materials and methods: Nine hundred fifty seven adults aged 19 to 86 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Self-reported structured questionnaires were utilized. Results:The reported mean sleep duration on a weekly basis was 6:26±1:10 hours (range, 04:00 to 10:00 hours); sleep duration was 26 min longer on weekends (p < 0.001). In multivariate linear regression analysis, older age (β=-26.7 min, p=0.010), being divorced or widowed (β=-29.0 min, p < 0.001), high alcohol (β=-39.7 min, p < 0.001) or coffee (β=-36.9 min, p=0.006) consumption, screen exposure before bedtime for 1-2 hours (β=-18.9 min, p=0.004) or > one hour (β=-34.4 min, p < 0.001), having a child aged under six years (β=-62.3 min, p < 0.001), napping for > 30 min during the day (β=-35.2 min, p < 0.001) and morbidity (β=-21.5 min, p < 0.001) were independently associated with short sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency. Moreover, a tendency towards short sleep duration was associated with anxiety (β=-8.8 min, p=0.078) and depression (β=-12.8 min, p=0.029). Obesity (β=10.7 min, p=0.047), being a university student (β=41.0 min, p=0.002), high financial status (β=16.6 min, p=0.037) and high adherence to Mediterranean diet (β=15.4 min, p=0.002) were associated with long sleep duration. Conclusion:This study illustrates the association of sleep disturbances with several sociodemographic and health-related factors and dictates conduction of larger scale prospective studies to evaluate causality on the relationship between sleep patterns and lifestyle factors.