0217 Adolescents’ Evening Preference is Associated with Specific Sleep Hygiene Behaviours

Abstract

Introduction Circadian tendencies are associated with individual differences in preferred timing of behaviour. Sleep hygiene encompasses a variety of habits that are necessary for healthy. Given the later bedtimes of individuals with evening circadian preferences, more time is spent being awake in the evening and this could be associated with increased or longer engagement in poor sleep hygiene. Specific sleep hygiene practices that are common in adolescents with high evening preferences may therefore be a target to improve sleep. However, the relationship between specific sleep hygiene behaviours and circadian preferences in adolescents has not been examined. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between circadian preference and specific domains of sleep hygiene behavior. Methods 127 adolescents (86 female) between 13 and 18 years old (M = 14.83, SD = 1.20) participated in the study. Circadian preferences were measured by the Morningness-Eveningness subscale of the School Sleep Habits Survey. Sleep hygiene was measured using the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale (ASHS). Results Higher eveningness scores were significantly negatively associated with the ASHS physiological, behavioural arousal, cognitive emotional arousal, sleep environment, sleep stability, daytime sleep, substances use factors (r = -.20, p = <.05, r = -.27, p = <.01, r = -.32, p = <.01, r = -.18, p = <.05, r = -.41, p = <.01, r = -.28, p = <.01, r = 0.20, p = <.05 respectively) and with total sleep hygiene score (r = -.45, p = <.01). Conclusion Higher eveningness preferences in adolescents is significantly associated with poorer sleep hygiene in all domains with the exception of bedtime routine. Behavioural arousal, cognitive emotional, and sleep stability domains show the strongest inverse correlations. These findings could be used to inform the development of tailored sleep health interventions for adolescents with strong evening tendencies Support Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) support for Dr. Reut Gruber.