Predictors for achieving optimal sleep in healthy children: Exploring sleep patterns in a sleep extension trial

Earlier bedtimes can help some children get more sleep, but we don't know which children, or what features of their usual sleep patterns could predict success with this approach. Using data from a randomized crossover trial of sleep manipulation, we sought to determine this.

Participants were 99 children aged 8-12years (49.5% female) with no sleep disturbances. Sleep was measured by actigraphy at baseline and over a restriction or extension week (1 hour later or earlier bedtime respectively), randomly allocated and separated by a washout week. Data were compared between baseline (week 1) and extension weeks only (week 3 or 5), using linear or logistic regression analyses as appropriate, controlling for randomization order.

One hour less total sleep time than average at baseline predicted 29.7 minutes (95% CI: 19.4, 40.1) of sleep gained and 3.45 (95% CI: 1.74, 6.81) times higher odds of successfully extending sleep by >30 minutes. Per standardized variable, less total sleep time and a shorter sleep period time were the strongest predictors (significant odds ratios (ORs) of 2.51 and 2.28, respectively). Later sleep offset, more variability in sleep timing and lower sleep efficiency also predicted sleep gains. The sleep period time cut-point that optimized prediction of successful sleep gains was <8 hours 28 minutes with 75% of children's baseline sleep in that range.

Children with a baseline sleep period time <8½ hours a night obtained the most sleep from earlier bedtimes maintained over a week, demonstrating experimentally the value of earlier bedtimes to improve sleep.

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry, ACTRN12618001671257, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=367587&isReview=true.