The Relationship Between Sleep Habits and Mental Health in Elementary School Students

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep is one of the basic elements which affects the growth and evolution and mental health of the child. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sleep habits and mental health in elementary school students. Methods: In this correlation study, 240 children aged 6-11 years old were selected in cluster random sampling in Nahavand city in Iran in 2017. Data were collected through questionnaires included demographic information, children's sleep habits (CSHQ) and children sickness indications (CSI-4). Questionnaires were completed by one of parents as self-report. Data analysis was done by SPSS software version 16 and Pearson correlation coefficient tests and simple regression. Results: The mean and standard deviation of students' sleep habits was 64.72 ± 9.33 and the mean and standard deviation of their mental health was 72.08 ± 15.37. There is a significant relationship between sleep habits and mental health of students (P <0.001). In other words, improper sleep habits increased the score of illness symptoms of mental health that showed poor mental health. Conclusion: Sleep disorder is one of the problems of elementary school children, which affects their mental health. Sleep health training for parents and trainers in schools can help to improve the mental health of children by reforming proper sleep habits. Funding Statement: This project was supported by Hamadan University of Medical sciences, Hamadan, Iran (No. 9512037374). Declaration of Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The Hamadan University of Medical sciences Ethics Committee approved that study (IR.UMSHA.REC.1395.524). Written informed consent was obtained from the subjects. It is also noteworthy that the results of the study were anonymously reported to comply with the ethical criteria Consent for publication.