Search

We aimed to obtain reliable reference charts for sleep duration, estimate the prevalence of sleep complaints across the lifespan and identify risk indicators of poor sleep. Studies were identified through systematic literature search in Embase, Medline and Web of Science (9 August 2019) and through personal contacts. Eligible studies had to be published between 2000 and 2017 with data on sleep assessed with questionnaires including ≥100 participants from the general population. We assembled individual participant data from 200,358 people (aged 1-100 years, 55% female) from 36 studies from the Netherlands, 471,759 people (40-69 years, 55.5% female) from the United Kingdom and 409,617 people (≥18 years, 55.8% female) from the United States. One in four people slept less than age-specific recommendations, but only 5.8% slept outside of the 'acceptable' sleep duration. Among teenagers, 51.5% reported total sleep times (TST) of less than the recommended 8-10 h and 18% report daytime sleepiness. In adults (≥18 years), poor sleep quality (13.3%) and insomnia symptoms (9.6-19.4%) were more prevalent than short sleep duration (6.5% with TST < 6 h). Insomnia symptoms were most frequent in people spending ≥9 h in bed, whereas poor sleep quality was more frequent in those spending <6 h in bed. TST was similar across countries, but insomnia symptoms were 1.5-2.9 times higher in the United States. Women (≥41 years) reported sleeping shorter times or slightly less efficiently than men, whereas with actigraphy they were estimated to sleep longer and more efficiently than man. This study provides age- and sex-specific population reference charts for sleep duration and efficiency which can help guide personalized advice on sleep length and preventive practices. more...

Objective: Bedtime electronic media use and caffeine consumption are risk factors for insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality during adolescence, which are in turn risk factors for mental wellbeing. Our study tested the effectiveness of a brief school-based psychoeducative intervention to primarily increase sleep duration, by decreasing bedtime electronic media use and caffeine consumption. Secondary outcomes included improving sleep quality and difficulties, daytime tiredness, and mental wellbeing., Method: A pilot cluster-randomised controlled study was conducted involving a 25-min psychoeducative school-based intervention combined with parent information. 352 adolescents from seven schools participated (Intervention Group/IG = 192 students vs. Control Group/CG = 160 students; age: Mean = 15.09 years; SD = 1.65 years; Females = 163). The intervention included information on the importance of sleep and good sleep hygiene habits, particularly emphasizing behavioural rules of avoiding electronic media use at night and evening-time caffeine consumption. A leaflet containing the rules was also sent to parents of IG participants. Baseline and post-intervention sessions were held approximately four weeks apart., Results: Multilevel analyses revealed a significant but modest decrease in electronic media use for participants in the IG versus CG, but showed no effect on caffeine consumption or sleep duration. Moreover, the intervention did not impact any secondary outcome., Conclusions: Findings indicate the potential effectiveness of a short and easily administrable intervention to decrease electronic media use at night, which may be incorporated into school curricula and standardised for wider use in primary prevention. However, no further benefits of the intervention were found., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) more...

Background: Sleep reduction, resulting from insufficient or poor sleep, is a common phenomenon in adolescents. Due to its severe negative psychological and behavioral daytime consequences, it is important to have a short reliable and valid measure to assess symptoms of sleep reduction. Objective: This study aims to validate the Sleep Reduction Screening Questionnaire (SRSQ) that can be used to screen for symptoms of sleep reduction in adolescents. Methods: Various samples from the general and clinical populations were included in the study. The SRSQ is a nine-item questionnaire that is based on the longer, four dimensional Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (Meijer in "J Sleep Res" 17:395-405, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00677.x, 2008). Items were selected on the basis of principal components analysis, item-total correlations, and substantive consideration. The SRSQ was validated by calculating correlations with self-reported and objective sleep and self-reported daytime functioning. Cut-off scores were determined so that the SRSQ can be used as a screening instrument. Results: Internal consistencies of the SRSQ were good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79 in the general population). Correlations with self-reported sleep, daytime functioning and objective sleep variables were satisfactory and in the expected directions. The SRSQ discriminates well between clinical and non-clinical cases. When accounting for prevalence of sleep reduction symptoms in the general population, the area under the curve was 0.91, sensitivity was 0.80 and specificity was 0.87. Conclusions: The SRSQ appears to be a short reliable and valid questionnaire. Due to the limited number of items and the availability of cut-off scores, it is a practical tool for clinical and research purposes. more...

Sleep problems are prevalent in adolescents and can severely impair their daytime functioning. This study aims to investigate differences in daytime functioning (e.g., depressive symptoms, attention problems, school functioning, and school performance) between adolescents with high and low chronic sleep reduction and short and long sleep durations. With this approach we get a better idea of their vulnerability to impaired daytime functioning due to (chronic) sleep loss. From a total sample size of 794 adolescents, we selected the lowest and highest quartiles of adolescents with either low or high chronic sleep reduction and either short or long sleep durations. We found significant differences in daytime functioning between the different groups, giving evidence of vulnerability to impaired daytime functioning due to (chronic) sleep loss. The results are of high clinical relevance as they show that adolescents obtaining sufficient and/or good sleep show nearly no daytime functioning problems. Programs to improve adolescents' sleep are therefore highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Homeostatic and circadian changes that occur during adolescence can result in chronic sleep reduction. This may particularly be true for adolescents with Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder ( DSPD), which is associated with late Dim Light Melatonin Onset ( DLMO). This study assessed the influence of melatonin treatment on chronic sleep reduction in adolescents with DSPD and examined whether adolescents with DSPD suffer from more chronic sleep reduction than adolescents from the general population before and after melatonin treatment. Adolescents with DSPD ( n = 145; 55.9% boys; mean age 15,5 years; mean DLMO = 22:32 h) completed a questionnaire concerning chronic sleep reduction at baseline. From these, 53 adolescents also completed this questionnaire after on average 10 weeks of melatonin treatment. At baseline adolescents with DSPD reported significantly more symptoms of chronic sleep reduction than adolescents from the general population, whereas after treatment they reported significantly less symptoms. DLMO did not influence the effect of treatment. The improvement of chronic sleep reduction after treatment is an important finding, considering the negative consequences of chronic sleep reduction for adolescents' daytime functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...