Sleep Habits and Quality of Life of Intellectually Disabled Children with and without Regular Physical Activity

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine sleep habits and life qualities of intellectually disabled children who performed or did not perform regular physical activity. Methods:This descriptive study was done with 126 children between February and June 2017. The data were collected by using the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire-Short Form and KIDSCREEN-27. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS package software. The descriptive properties of demographic characteristics are given as percentiles and means. Chi-squared test was used for the comparison of two groups. Independent paired-sample t-test was used to compare intergroup measures. The confidence interval was 95%; p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results:The children with regular physical activity obtained lower score from Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire-Short Form. It was found that the children who did not engage regular physical activity, obtained a lower score from KIDSCREEN-27 and its subscales than the children who engaged regular physical activity. The differences between the two groups in terms of general mood and mean scores of your child’s feeling, friends, school and learning subscales were also found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion:A significant difference in sleep patterns and sleep habits was not found between groups. It was found that intellectually disabled children who engaged regular physical activity had better quality of life.

Keywords

• intellectually disabled child
• quality of life
• regular physical activity
• sleep