Sleep reduction in adolescents: socio-demographic factors and the mediating role of sleep hygiene practices

Objectives

This study examined socio-demographic factors of sleep reduction in adolescents and whether differences in sleep reduction were mediated by their sleep hygiene practices. It also provides more insight into the prevalence of sleep reduction in a sample of Dutch adolescents.

Design

Cross-sectional study using baseline data from the cluster-randomized controlled trial Charge Your Brainzzz.

Participants

972 adolescents in the second or third grade of secondary school, aged 13.3 (± 0.7) years, of which 55% were girls.

Methods

Socio-demographic differences (gender, age, education types, cultural groups) in sleep reduction and the mediating effects of sleep hygiene practices (i.e., caffeine use, behavioral arousal, cognitive/emotional arousal) were assessed with linear regression analyses and the product-of-coefficient test with percentile-based confidence intervals, respectively. Sleep reduction was measured using the Sleep Reduction Screening Questionnaire, whereas sleep hygiene practices were measured via the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale.

Results

33% of adolescents reported sleep reduction. Girls and older-aged adolescents experienced more sleep reduction than boys and younger-aged adolescents, respectively. The association between gender and sleep reduction was mediated by cognitive/emotional arousal but suppressed by caffeine use, while behavioral arousal and cognitive/emotional arousal mediated the association between age and sleep reduction.

Conclusions

Sleep reduction was shown to be common in Dutch adolescents, especially in girls and older-aged adolescents. Sleep hygiene practices partly explained the differences in sleep health and sleep reduction between different socio-demographic risk groups. Further research is needed to provide more insight into the complexity of sleep reduction and its interrelated behaviors and risk factors.