Sleep pattern and practice among adolescents school children in Nigerian secondary schools

INTRODUCTION Some adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the pattern and practice of sleep among adolescents could be useful to establish a lasting sleep hygiene program among adolescents. The objectives of this study are to describe sleep pattern and practice among adolescent in Nigerian secondary schools. METHODS Sleep habits were investigated using a random sampling of adolescents from secondary schools from February to April 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV criteria. Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used. RESULTS A total of 443 subjects, comprising 263 (59.4%) females and 180 (40.6%) males completed the questionnaire. The mean duration of night sleep of the subjects during weekday was 7.84 (1.9) hours and 8.65 (2.07) hours during the weekend. 22.8% (101/443) had abnormal sleep onset latency (< 5 minutes and > 30 minutes). The gender of the subjects did not influence the sleep onset latency (χ(2) = 32.89, p= 0.57). Twenty six (5.9%)of the subjects reported difficulty falling asleep. CONCLUSION Adolescents have varying degrees of sleeping practice and hygiene.