Abstract
BackgroundConsidering the reports of increasing sleep problems in children, affecting health and well-being in young children and their families, we found it important to gain more knowledge about sleep and its correlation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young, healthy children. The aims with this study were to describe sleep quality, sleep duration, and HRQoL in healthy 3–10-year-old children and to test associations between children’s sleep and HRQoL.MethodsParents of 160 children (average age: 6.9 years, SD ±2.2) participated in the study. Sleep onset problems (SOP), sleep maintenance problems (SMP), and sleep duration were measured by the Pediatric Insomnia Severity Index (PISI). KIDSCREEN-27 was used to measure HRQoL in five dimensions: physical well-being, psychological well-being, autonomy and parent relation, social support and peers, and school environment.ResultsThe average score was 2.2 for SOP (SD +/− 2.2) and 1.3 for SMP (SD +/− 1.6). Few children (2%) were reported to sleep less than 8 h per night. Younger children had statistically significant higher SOP and SMP than older children. Correlations were found between SOP and poor psychological well-being (p < 0.05, ρ = − 0.16), and between SMP and poor physical wellbeing (p < 0.05, ρ = − 0.16), psychological well-being (p < 0.05, ρ = − 0.21), poor school environment (p < 0.01, ρ = − 0.29), autonomy and parent relation (p < 0.05, ρ = − 0.16), and poor social support and peers (p < 0.05, ρ = − 0.19).ConclusionChildren’s sleep associates with health-related quality of life and needs to be acknowledged in child health care settings and schools.
Highlights
Considering the reports of increasing sleep problems in children, affecting health and well-being in young children and their families, we found it important to gain more knowledge about sleep and its correlation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young, healthy children
Adolescents have recently described good sleep in terms of sleep duration, bedtime routines, short sleep onset latency, absence of nocturnal awakenings, and waking up feeling rested and joyful [3], which is in line with the definition of sleep quality described by Ohayon et al [4]
Considering the reports of increasing sleep problems in healthy children, affecting health and well-being in young children and their families, we found it important to gain more knowledge about sleep and its correlation to HRQoL in a healthy population of young children in Sweden
Summary
Considering the reports of increasing sleep problems in children, affecting health and well-being in young children and their families, we found it important to gain more knowledge about sleep and its correlation to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young, healthy children. Good sleep quality, regularity, and the absence of sleep disruptions are important factors for healthy sleep in children [1, 2]. No previous study of prevalence and trend of sleep problems in healthy, young children has been found, but studies have reported increasing sleep problems in children and adolescents [5,6,7], leading to physical, psychological, and cognitive problems [6, 8, 9]. Insufficient sleep impacts emotional reactivity, leading to more negative and less positive emotions [10, 11], and to impaired executive
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