Sleep and academic performance in Indigenous Australian children from a remote community: An exploratory study

Abstract

Aim: Disruptions to sleep in childhood are associated with poor behaviour and deficits in academic performance and executive function. Although academic performance of indigenous children from remote communities in Australia is documented as well below that of non‐indigenous children, the extent of sleep disruption and its contribution to academic performance among this population has not been assessed. This pilot study aimed to objectively assess the sleep of remote indigenous children and the association between sleep disruption and both academic performance and executive function. Method: Twenty‐one children from a remote Australian indigenous community aged 6–13 years wore actigraphy for two consecutive nights, reported subjective sleepiness, and were objectively assessed for academic performance (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd Edition) and executive function (NEuroloPSYcological Assessment‐II). Results: Results show marked reduction in sleep time, sleep fragmentation, academic performance and auditory attention compared with non‐indigenous norms. Sleep duration was not associated with performance, possibly because of reduced sleep and performance observed across the entire group. Sleep fragmentation was associated with reduced reading and numerical skills (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The sleep of indigenous children in remote communities is an important area of future inquiry, and our initial findings of poor sleep and an association between sleep disruption and academic performance may have important implications for intervention strategies aimed at ‘closing the gap’. Further studies should assess a broader range of demographic, social and economic factors to better understand the associations reported here and guide future intervention.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in the Indigenous Paediatric Population in the Northern Territory

“…To date, only four small studies have assessed sleep and sleep related issues in the paediatric ATSI population. 8,9,10,11 Therefore, we reviewed the prevalence of OSA in the paediatric ATSI group and the impact of a paediatric sleep service in the NT.…”

Can sleep contribute to “closing the gap” for Indigenous children?

“…Recent findings on the sleep of Indigenous children suggest that this group may also be encumbered with a higher prevalence of sleep problems 3 . ‐ 7 …”

Sleep Disorders in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Residents of Regional and Remote Australia

“…1 A recent Australian community cohort study reported an OSA (AHI ≥ 10) prevalence of 53% in males age 40 y or older, and a moderate (AHI [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] to severe (AHI ≥ 30) OSA prevalence of 26%. 7 Comparable studies of indigenous peoples from New Zealand 8 and Canada 9 reported a Māori OSA prevalence of 14% (RDI ≥ 5), 11% (RDI ≥ 10) and 6% (RDI ≥ 15), and American Indian OSA prevalence of 33% (AHI [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and 23% (AHI ≥ 15).…”

“…Cooper et al's similarly small study of 21 Indigenous children age 6-13 y in northern Australia suggested that increasing age was significantly associated with greater sleep latency and reduced sleep efficacy, and that movement during sleep and sleep fragmentation was associated with reduced academic performance. 12 The third and larger study by Valery et al investigated the prevalence of snoring and restlessness and its relationship with asthma in 1,650 Indigenous children in five communities in the Torres Strait region. 13 The prevalence of restless sleep was 6% and snoring 14.2% and both were associated with a coexistent diagnosis of asthma.…”

“…The three studies that have examined sleep health in Indigenous Australians have been restricted to children. [11][12][13] Blunden and Chervin investigated symptoms of sleep disorders in 25 Indigenous and 25 matched non-indigenous participants aged 7-11 y in northern Australia. 11 Sleep disordered breathing was reported in 5% of the sample (3% of Indigenous and 2% of non-indigenous children), and excessive daytime sleepiness was reported in 9% (5% of Indigenous and 4% of non-indigenous children).…”