•  
  •  
 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To find the prevalence of sleep problems among pupils, its possible causes and associated behaviors. METHODS: This study was carried out during 3-24 February 1996. We randomly selected a sample of (277) 5th graders (181 boys and 96 girls), from 3 public primary schools in 3 different socio-economic areas in Benghazi, Libya. We interviewed the pupils and the teachers by a pretested questionnaire concerning sleep, school achievement and other behaviors. Those pupils who sleep after 10:00 pm, or those having bad sleep characters, or both, twice or more a week in the last month, were considered suffering from sleep problems. According to their performance in the first semester in both Arabic and Mathematics, pupils were classified in to 3 groups (>70% in both the good group, 50-70% in both subjects or in one provided that the other was above 70% the average group, <50% in one or both subjects the poorly achieving group). RESULTS: This study shows high prevalence of sleep problems among pupils (28.9%), especially in a high-density area, with non-significant gender difference. Associated behaviors are bad school achievement, sleepiness and mood fluctuation. CONCLUSION: Parental ignorance, unawareness and bad child rearing and follow-up are evident, and considered to be the main cause of these problems, that needs intensive education towards better sleep hygiene.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

1105

Last Page

1109

Download

Share

COinS