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. 2020 Jul;88(1):110-116.
doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-0768-y. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

Prevalence and stability of insufficient sleep measured by actigraphy: a prospective community study

Bror M Ranum  1 , Lars Wichstrøm  2   3   4 , Ståle Pallesen  5 , Silje Steinsbekk  2   3
Affiliations

Prevalence and stability of insufficient sleep measured by actigraphy: a prospective community study

Bror M Ranum et al. Pediatr Res. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Background: It is well established that reduced sleep has detrimental effects on school-aged children's functioning, but the prevalence and stability of objectively measured insufficient sleep throughout childhood is unknown.

Methods: A sample of 799 children was followed biennially with 24-h 7-day accelerometer (hip-placed) measurements from ages 6 to 12 years. Insufficient sleep was conceptualized as sleeping <7 h on average (AIS) and as the number of nights with <7 h of sleep (NNIS).

Results: The prevalence of AIS ranged from 1.1% to 13.6%. Of those without AIS, 15.1-64.5% had >1 NNIS. At ages 6-10 years, NNIS was higher on weekend nights, but at age 12 years NNIS was lower on weekends (18.1%) compared to weekdays (23.4%). The stability of AIS was low from ages 6 to 8 years and from 8 to 10 years, but increased from age 10 to 12 years, whereas NNIS evidenced higher stability, increasing sharply through late middle childhood.

Conclusions: The prevalence of AIS was low during the preschool and early school years but increased toward preadolescence. The 2-year stability of insufficient sleep was very low when conceptualized as AIS and moderate when defined as NNIS, hence NNIS might be more sensitive than AIS. Insufficient sleep appears transient in middle childhood and thus might not warrant intervention unless it fosters impairment and endures.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sample recruitment. Number of participants at the various assessment points is based on the number of participants invited to participate (n = 1250) minus those who did not participate at the respective measurement point (i.e., T1, T2).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flowchart of children moving between averaged sufficient and insufficient sleep.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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