Examining the sleeping habits of preschool and elementary school children in Southern Slovakia
- PMID: 38272478
- DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7896
Examining the sleeping habits of preschool and elementary school children in Southern Slovakia
Abstract
Objectives: Our research aimed to examine children's sleeping habits from preschool to the end of elementary school age. Developing proper sleeping habits in childhood is essential, as it is decisive for the rest of our lives.
Methods: A total of 339 children (160 males and 179 females) took part in the research, of which 145 were preschool-age children (3-7 years old), 72 lower-grade elementary school children (6-11 years old), and 122 upper-grade elementary school children (12-16 years old). The questionnaire was completed in a paper form (elementary school students) and online (kindergarten children).
Results: The research results show that most of the children spend enough time sleeping following the recommendations. In case of the kindergarten children, the younger ones also sleep in the afternoon on weekends (average of 3.66 years, 28.3%), and the older ones do not sleep in the afternoon either in kindergarten during the week or at home at the weekend (average of 5.22 years, 46.2%). The use of blue light typically increases with age; 39% of the preschoolers, 61% of the 6-11-year-olds, and 67% of the 12-16-year-olds use it before falling asleep. Sleep aids and rituals are used by 87.6% of the preschoolers, 67.4% of the 6-11-year-olds, and 34.4% of the 12-16-year-olds, because significantly more preschoolers find it more difficult to fall asleep than older children. At night, 40% of the preschoolers wake up at least once (due to biological needs - 46.3%), 32% of the 6-11-year-olds wake up at night (due to nightmares - 42.3%), and 41% of the 12-16-year-olds also wake up all night (due to biological needs - 31.9%, and due to noise - 29.8%).
Conclusion: Although the children get enough sleep, significantly more upper-grade school children feel tired in the morning. It is essential to help sleep and eliminate factors that prevent falling asleep to create a healthy circadian rhythm in the life of children.
Keywords: blue light; preschool age group; primary school age group; sleep; sleep aids; sleep problems; sleep time.
Similar articles
-
The influence of school time on sleep patterns of children and adolescents.Sleep Med. 2016 Mar;19:33-9. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2015.09.024. Epub 2015 Nov 12. Sleep Med. 2016. PMID: 27198945
-
[Difference on sleeping between school-days and weekends in elementary school children, data from 8 provinces in China].Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2015 Jun;36(6):552-5. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2015. PMID: 26564622 Chinese.
-
Bedtime and its correlates among secondary school children in Karachi, Pakistan.J Pak Med Assoc. 2012 Nov;62(11):1168-73. J Pak Med Assoc. 2012. PMID: 23866404
-
[Sleeping habits and sleep disorders during adolescence: relation to school performance].Aten Primaria. 2005 May 15;35(8):408-14. doi: 10.1157/13074792. Aten Primaria. 2005. PMID: 15882497 Free PMC article. Spanish.
-
Weekly alternation of morning and afternoon school start times: implications for sleep and daytime functioning of adolescents.Sleep. 2020 Aug 12;43(8):zsaa030. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa030. Sleep. 2020. PMID: 32076723
References
-
- Chaput JP, Yau J, Rao DP, Morin CM. Prevalence of insomnia for Canadians aged 6 to 79. Health Rep. 2018 Dec 19;29(12):16-20.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources