Evaluation of the effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on sleep disorders and nutrition in children

Abstract

Aims:The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible changes in sleep behavior and nutrition in children during the pandemic period.Methods: One hundred fourteen parents who accepted to participate in the study aged 18 and over and who had children between the ages of 6 and 16 were included in the study. A questionnaire was carried out after written consents were obtained.In the first part of the questionnaire, there were a total of 9 questions including socio-demographic information and nutritional characteristics, and the second part included the "Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children" (SDSC). The data were analyzed with the SPSS 20 statistical program. Results:The total number of participants was 114 parents; 64 (56%) of the children were girls and 50 (43.9%) were boys. Among the participants, the number of children who had COVID-19 was 38 (33.3%). There was no statistically significant relationship between going through COVID-19 status and the variables examined in general. The proportion of participants who stated that if the pandemic period was prolonged, COVID-19 would not change their diet was found to be statistically significant (P = .038). The SDSC score was found to be significantly high in girls (P < .05). Conclusion:Sleep and nutritional disorders affect the quality of life for all ages for both genders, and their importance increases even more in extraordinary periods such as pandemic. Sleep problems increasing especially with an accompanying anxiety state may lead to developmental problems as well as deepening psychological disorders. What's known• Sleep disorders are common in children. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders are extremely important. What's new• Sleep problems, which increase with the anxiety that accompanies pandemics, can also deepen psychological disorders. Parents with daughters should be more careful during these periods.

Central precocious puberty during COVID-19 pandemic and sleep disturbance: an exploratory study

“…Moreover, a total score of global disturb might be obtained by the sum of subscales scores. Recently, several studies have investigated sleep disturbs in children during lockdown by SDSC questionnaire [ 3 , 16 – 19 ]. In addition to SDSC, we registered bedtime, hours of sleep, and use of smartphone around bedtime, use of electronic devices during the day and for e-learning was not investigated.…”

Lifestyle risk behaviours among adolescents: a two-year longitudinal study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, some research in Australia25 and Germany26 suggests physical activity increased 26. International studies also report an increase in adolescent sleep duration during lockdown periods,18 20 but higher prevalence of sleep problems, particularly among girls 27. Similarly, Australian adolescents perceived an increase in sleep difficulties and had increased sleep disturbance during the first lockdown 25.…”

Effects of COVID-19 home confinement on sleep in children: A systematic review

“…Emotional problems, along with gender, age, diet, device use, stress, and environment are factors that have been considered in studies as moderators of children’s sleep [ 11 , 13 , 15 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 ]. During confinement, girls were more likely to suffer from sleep disturbances [ 35 , 56 ], although previous research has indicated that this is truer in boys [ 56 ]. Younger boys spent more time in bed and went to sleep earlier [ 11 , 35 ].…”

“…To sum up, during confinement, children had more time available to themselves, and this has been unevenly distributed with increasing screen time and decreasing physical activity, both of which influence sleep [ 15 , 43 , 56 ]. A very high percentage of parents reported a change in children’s routines [ 15 ].…”