Can introduction of sleep hygiene videos improve sleep and concentration in 5th and 6th graders? Interventional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Insomnia is a very common condition in childhood with a prevalence of 25–50%. It can present as difficulty with initiating and maintaining sleep with frequent disruptions throughout the night. Sleep insomnia is known to affect children’s development and contribute to poor attention and memory. Establishing a good sleep routine will have a beneficial effect not just on the child’s wellbeing and development but the whole family. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of sleep hygiene videos in improving sleep quality and subsequent cognitive function in children aged 10–11 years. Two cartoon videos on sleep hygiene were designed along with a child-friendly questionnaire to be filled by grade 5 and 6 students in two different schools in the city of Leeds, England. Questionnaires were filled prior to viewing the videos and 2 to 3 weeks afterward to assess response to the video contents. The videos were viewed in April and May 2022. Results In the East of Leeds School, 49 students participated. In the North of Leeds School, 45 students participated. Significance of outcomes were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In the first school, there was a significant improvement in sleep duration, sleep disturbance, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction due to sleepiness and sleep efficiency (p < 0.05). In the second school, there was a significant improvement in sleep duration, sleep disturbance and sleep latency (p < 0.05). Conclusion Poor sleep function is a major issue in children. The results demonstrated that the use of sleep hygiene videos can support children with sleep difficulties and help them to modify their behaviour through self-health promotion.

Keywords

• Sleep hygiene
• Sleep quality
• Poor sleep function
• Insomnia
• Behavioural sleep intervention