Parent and adolescent reported sleep parameters and the pattern of sleep disorders among school attending adolescents in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Sleep problems have been reported to be very common in adolescents in developed countries. However, there is a dearth of studies on the sleep pattern and the types of sleep problems of adolescents in our environment.

Objectives: To determine the sleep parameters of Nigerian school-attending adolescents and the pattern of sleep problems in the adolescents.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in selected public and private secondary schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The adolescents filled the Adolescent sleep habits survey while a parent-reported questionnaire, the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children designed for children and adolescents was used to determine the type of sleep disorders present in the adolescents. Results: A total of 346 adolescents were studied with a male to female ratio of 1: 1.1 and a mean age of 13.5±2.29 years. The mean total sleep duration for the adolescents was 9 hours (h) 08 minutes (m)±113m and 7 h 15m±86m for weekends and weekdays respectively with significantly higher values on weekends when compared with weekdays (p=0.001). Disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) which encompasses insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders were the most common type of sleep disorder in the adolescents.

Conclusion and Recommendation: Disorder of initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) and circadian rhythm disorders occur in Nigerian adolescents. Adolescents have shorter sleep duration than their subjective sleep need. Therefore, there is a need to educate the adolescents and their parents on the importance of adequate sleep. Further studies using objective tools are needed.