Sleep hygiene intervention for youth aged 10 to 18 years with problematic sleep: a before-after pilot study

Abstract

BackgroundThe current study aimed to examine the changes following a sleep hygiene intervention on sleep hygiene practices, sleep quality, and daytime symptoms in youth.MethodsParticipants aged 10–18 years with self-identified sleep problems completed our age-appropriate F.E.R.R.E.T (an acronym for the categories of Food, Emotions, Routine, Restrict, Environment and Timing) sleep hygiene programme; each category has three simple rules to encourage good sleep. Participants (and parents as appropriate) completed the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale (ASHS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), and wore Actical® monitors twice before (1 and 2 weeks) and three times after (6, 12 and 20 weeks) the intervention. Anthropometric data were collected two weeks before and 20 weeks post-intervention.ResultsThirty-three youths (mean age 12.9 years; M/F = 0.8) enrolled, and retention was 100%. ASHS scores significantly improved (p = 0.005) from a baseline mean (SD) of 4.70 (0.41) to 4.95 (0.31) post-intervention, as did PSQI scores [7.47 (2.43) to 4.47 (2.37); p < 0.001] and SDSC scores [53.4 (9.0) to 39.2 (9.2); p < 0.001]. PDSS scores improved from a baseline of 16.5 (6.0) to 11.3 (6.0) post- intervention (p < 0.001). BMI z-scores with a baseline of 0.79 (1.18) decreased significantly (p = 0.001) post-intervention to 0.66 (1.19). Despite these improvements, sleep duration as estimated by Actical accelerometry did not change. There was however a significant decrease in daytime sedentary/light energy expenditure.ConclusionsOur findings suggest the F.E.R.R.E.T sleep hygiene education programme might be effective in improving sleep in children and adolescents. However because this was a before and after study and a pilot study with several limitations, the findings need to be addressed with caution, and would need to be replicated within a randomised controlled trial to prove efficacy.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12612000649819

Intervensi Sleep Hygiene pada Anak Usia Sekolah dengan Gangguan Tidur: Sebuah Penelitian Awal

“…Sesuai dengan hasil penelitian intervensi sleep hygiene dengan program Ferret yang dilakukan pada 33 subyek penelitian pada studi pendahuluan di Selandia Baru. 6 Penelitian tersebut mendapatkan penurunan nilai SDSC, rerata 53,4 menjadi 39,2 setelah intervensi. Namun, intervensi pada penelitian tersebut berlangsung lebih lama, yaitu selama 20 minggu, sedangkan penelitian kami hanya 8 minggu.…”

“…5 Beberapa penelitian menunjukkan penerapan kebiasaan menjelang tidur yang baik atau dikenal dengan istilah sleep hygiene merupakan prediktor penting kualitas tidur pada remaja. [5][6][7] Namun, penelitian tersebut lebih banyak fokus pada remaja akhir, data tentang penerapannya pada anak usia sekolah masih terbatas. Data mengenai intervensi sleep hygiene pada anak dan remaja di Indonesia belum diketahui.…”

Sleep and Diabetes in Adolescents: A Battle between Physiology and Social Factors

“…Given the complexity of the factors known to influence sleep duration and quality, sleep improvement programs should be multi-faceted, emphasizing the key factors that affect sleep. Some studies have investigated the effects of sleep advice in those with poor sleep habits, 14 and besides that, education and increasing awareness about healthy sleep habits in the adolescent populations is unlikely to be harmful. However, the development of an effective sleep education program to adolescents requires more studies before implementation can be realized.…”

“…However, the development of an effective sleep education program to adolescents requires more studies before implementation can be realized. There have been a number of recent attempts to assess the efficacy of sleep education programs in adolescent populations [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] with positive results on sleep hygiene, but very few studies have investigated if sleep enhancement has downstream positive effects on metabolic function or body weight. Only two programs have been conducted with obesity and/or metabolic outcomes.…”

“…Only two programs have been conducted with obesity and/or metabolic outcomes. 14,21 Larger, well thought out, randomized controlled trials with regular, objective and prospective sleep assessments. This will help to determine the efficacy of the programs and will shine lite on the potential downstream effects such as eating behaviors, physical activity, use of technology and other lifestyle that promote obesity and metabolic disturbances.…”