Investigation of the Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic Process on Sleep Habits of Children and Adolescents
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Backgraund/Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic process on sleep habits and problems in children.
Methods: The mothers of patients aged 0-18 years, who applied to XXX Pediatrics Clinic between May 15 and June 15, 2020, for outpatient health care were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was administered to mothers who volunteered to participate in the study.
Results: A total of 457 children, 237 girls (51.9%) and 220 boys (48.1%) participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 10.03±4.4 years (Min:1 - Max:18). The average sleep time before the pandemic was 9.5 hours, and the average sleep time was 10 hours during the pandemic. A delay of 1 hour and 42 minutes was found between bedtime before the pandemic and bedtime during the pandemic (<0.001). A delay of 2 hours and 20 minutes was detected between the morning wake-up time before the pandemic and the morning wake-up time during the pandemic process (<0.001). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the presence of technological devices in the sleeping room increased significantly during the pandemic process, the problems of resisting lying down, having difficulty in lying down alone, falling asleep and teeth grinding problems were significantly increased, and the presence of pre-sleep preparation was significantly reduced (<0.001).
Conclusions: This study showed that during the COVID 19 pandemic, the sleep habits of children and adolescents changed significantly compared to the pre-pandemic period, and some sleep problems increased. Recognizing and reducing sleep problems in terms of child health is an important responsibility of healthcare professionals, and parents should be made aware of this issue.
Keywords
References
- 1. Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, Niu P, Yang B, Wu H, et al. Genomic characterization and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet. 2020;395(10224):565–74.
- 2. Fauci AS, Lane HC, Redfield RR. Covid-19—navigating the uncharted. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(13): 1268-1269. 3. Shen K, Yang Y, Wang T, Zhao D, Jiang Y, Jin R, et al. Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in children: experts’ consensus statement. World J Pediatr. 2020;1–9.
- 4. Jiao WY, Wang LN, Liu J, Fang SF, Jiao FY, Pettoello-Mantovani M, et al. Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Children during the COVID-19 Epidemic. J Pediatr. 2020; 221:264-266.
- 5. Farney RJ, Walker LE, Jensen RL, Walker JM. Ear oximetry to detect apnea and differentiate rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep: screening for sleep apnea syndrome. Chest. 1986;89(4):533–9.
- 6. Blunden S, Lushington K, Lorenzen B, Ooi T, Fung F, Kennedy D. Are sleep problems under-recognized in general practice? Arch Dis Child. 2004;89(8):708–12.
- 7. Gozal D, Kheirandish-Gozal L. Neurocognitive and behavioral morbidity in children with sleep disorders. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2007;13(6):505–9.
- 8. Sharma M, Aggarwal S, Madaan P, Saini L, Bhutani M. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sleep in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med. 2021;84:259–67.
- 9. World Health Organization. Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) [Internet]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
- 10. Öğütlü H. Turkey’s response to COVID-19 in terms of mental health. Ir J Psychol Med. 2020;37(3):222–5.
- 11. Altena E, Baglioni C, Espie CA, Ellis J, Gavriloff D, Holzinger B, et al. Dealing with sleep problems during home confinement due to the COVID‐19 outbreak: Practical recommendations from a task force of the European CBT‐I Academy. J Sleep Res. 2020;29(4):e13052.