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.