0057 A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF ADOLESCENT SLEEP IN THE UK - BASELINE SLEEPING PATTERNS FROM THE OXFORD TEENSLEEP COHORT

Abstract

The 2014 Sleep in America poll reported that 71% of 12-14-year-olds sleep for less than 8hrs a night. Self-reported sleepiness, poorer sleep quality, and shorter sleep duration are associated with poorer school performance. The Oxford Teensleep pilot study is evaluating how 14-15-year-olds are sleeping in the UK and whether sleep can be improved through a school-based sleep education programme: the largest study of adolescent sleep in the UK. Students (age 14–15 years) in ten UK schools participated in two weeks of sleep monitoring which included wearing a wrist actigraph and completing a sleep diary prior to the Teensleep lessons. In addition to sleep variables, students reported on their activities, including media use and caffeine consumption, before bedtime. Preliminary findings from the initial baseline sleep monitoring period are presented here (n = 55, 37 females, 18 males). Baseline sleep results from the whole cohort will be available in June. Through actigraphy, TST was 7:01(±37.86) on a weekday (Sun-Thu night) and 7:40(±42.57) on a weekend. This was mirrored in the sleep diary with TST’s of 7:46(±59.85) and 8:33(±67.99) respectively. Adolescents reported that they would like to have slept an additional 1:47 on a weekday and 1:31 on a weekend, resulting in a desired TST of 9:33 and 10:04 respectively. Actigraphy indicated a WASO of 55.41min(±19.17) (weekdays) and 63.93min(±23.97) (weekends). Before sleep, adolescents engaged in activities that could impact sleep, for example using their mobile phone and consuming caffeinated items. These preliminary findings highlight how adolescents could benefit from an improvement to their sleep. According to National Sleep Foundation guidelines, average TST was shorter than recommended for this age group. Further, the adolescents wished to have a TST closer to the 8-10hr recommendation. Study supported by Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) / Wellcome Trust funding (Espie and Foster). Trial evaluation for the EEF is being conducted by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, Durham University, UK.