Document Type : Original Article (s)
Authors
1
Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3
Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background: Over recent decades, daily sleep duration even in children has decreased. However, sleep duration in children as an important factor in their lifestyle is usually ignored. Most of the previous studies have used subjective methods for measuring sleep pattern, which do not provide accurate estimates of the sleep quality and quantity.Methods: Using objective method in 2009, we conducted a cross- sectional study to assess the sleep pattern of 270 (151 girls, 119 boys) primary school children aged 6-9 years living in 12 districts of Tehran, Iran. The ActiGraph GT3X (Pensacola, Florida, USA) activity monitor and a self-reported questionnaire filled out by the children’ parents were used to provide information regarding sleep pattern.Findings: The average sleep duration of children was 524 minutes. The onset of their sleep was around 11.23 pm and morning rising time was 08.02 am. The mean sleep quality of children was 83.2% and girls had better sleep quality during week (P = 0.003) and weekday (P = 0.001) compared to boys. There was a significantly negative relationships between age and sleep duration (P = 0.003), while the association between age and the onset of sleep was positive (P = 0.001).Conclusion: Our findings indicate that sleep duration and quality of the children who took part in this study were less than the normal standard recommended. In addition, the average of sleep onset in the children was too late. The pattern of older children need more consideration as the results of our study show that the older children had less sleep duration and earlier wake up time compared to the younger ones. Further studies using objective methods are required to explore the association between duration, quality, onset and wake up time of sleep and the development of mental health, physical health, and cognitive outcomes in children.
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