Relationship between commuting to school and sleep disturbance in Japanese adolescents: a 2-year cohort study

Long commute times to school are factors that negatively affect sleep quality in adolescents. However, the relationship between commute duration and sleep disturbances remains underexplored in Japan, particularly in longitudinal studies.

This 2-year cohort study recruited 6684 students from 40 high schools in Oita Prefecture, Japan. At follow-up, 6457 students in 12th grade consented to continue. The final analysis included 5785 students who completed both surveys. The survey assessed the participants' demographic, commuting duration, and sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Multivariate logistic regression analyses with generalized estimating equations were conducted to evaluate associations between commute time and sleep disturbances, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

At follow-up, the prevalences of sleep disturbances were 48.9 % (95 % confidence interval [95 % CI]: 44.5-53.5), 44.4 % (95 % CI: 42.2-46.7), and 41.9 % (95 % CI: 40.1-43.7) for those commuting >1 h, >30 min, and <30 min, respectively (P-trend = 0.002). Students commuting >1 h were significantly more likely to experience sleep disturbances than those commuting <30 min (adjusted odds ratio 1.42 [95 % CI: 1.17-1.73]). Female, skipping meals, longer internet usage and studying time were associated with sleep disturbances. Among PSQI components, longer commutes were associated with reduced sleep duration, increased use of sleep medication, heightened daytime sleepiness, and improved sleep efficiency.

These findings underscore the association between long commutes and poor sleep quality among Japanese adolescents. Policymakers and educational institutions should consider commute times and individual student chronotypes when developing strategies to promote better health outcomes.