The Association between Sleep and Injury among School-Aged Children in Iran

Background. A good night's sleep plays a key role in diseases resistance, injury prevention, and mood stability. The objective of this study was to examine relationship between sleep problems and accidental injury occurrences in school-aged children. Method. A retrospective study was conducted for comparing two groups of children. Children who have experienced injuries for at least two times during an academic year are the participants in the injury group (IG) and those who have not experienced any kind of injuries are placed in the noninjury group (NIG). Data was collected through parent-reported sleep patterns and problems using Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Findings. The findings showed that global sleep problems were more in the IG than in the NIG. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the daytime sleepiness and sleep duration are the two major reasons for accidental injury. In addition, significant difference was seen between the sleep patterns of the two groups. Sleep duration was also shorter in the IG, and this group had a greater percentage (63% versus 41.1%) of "short sleepers" (<9 h). Conclusion. There is a significant relationship between injury occurrence and sleep problems and sleep duration in Iranian school-aged children.