Sleeping Habits of Primary School Children and Affecting Factors

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the sleep habits of primary school children and identify factors affecting it.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study comprised 1876 school-aged children (ages 6-11 years). The Sociodemographic Characteristics questionnaire and Children's Sleep Habits questionnaire were used as data-gathering tools. Before the study was started, ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee. All statistical data were analyzed using the SPSS program. In descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages were used. Sleep habits and related variables were analyzed using the student's t-test and One-Way ANOVA test. Statistical significance was determined as p<0.05.

Results: The study comprised 1876 students, with ages ranging from 6 to 11 years (mean 8.52 +/- 1 .21 years). Of these, 51.5% (n=966) were girls, 48.5% (n=910) were boys, and 71.2% had a sleep disorder. The mean bedtime was 10:01 p.m. +/- 0:49 min, the mean wake-up time was 07:35 a.m. +/- 0:55 min, and the mean sleep duration was 9.33 +/- 1.13 hours. Significant differences were observed among the participants' sleeping habits in terms of variables, such as parental education level, family structure, family income, chronic diseases, computer game addiction, and dietary pattern (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It is recommended that school nurses be more careful when evaluating the sleep characteristics of school-aged children. Moreover, school nurses should inform parents and children of any sleep problems.

C1 [Inci, Fadime Hatice; Kostu, Nazan; Cinar, Ilgun Ozen; Aslan, Gulbahar Korkmaz; Kartal, Asiye] Pamukkale Univ, Dept Hlth Sci, Fac Med, Denizli, Turkey.