Correlates for poor sleepers in a Los Angeles high school

Abstract

Background and purpose: We explored sleep patterns including morning-evening preference and their associations with other lifestyle determinants among high school students.

Participants and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of students grades 9-12 from a private high school in the United States. One hundred and thirty-one students completed an online survey comprising 23 original, investigator-created questions, a mood scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Horne-Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ).

Results: We found that 80% of students reported a sleep deficit. As defined by the PSQI, 69% of girls and 58% of boys in this sample were poor sleepers. Eveningness was a strong predictor of poor sleep, particularly among students aged 15 years (odds ratio [OR] 9.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-64.8), among whom poor sleep quality was also associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) (OR, 6.97; 95% CI, 1.01-48.2).

Conclusions: Our pilot study suggests that morningness-eveningness is a strong predictor of sleep quality among high school students.