Sleep of preschoolers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has resulted in a significantly large number of psychological consequences, including sleep health. The present study evaluated sleep patterns, sleep disturbances, and associated factors in Chinese preschoolers confined at home during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Caregi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sleep research Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. e13142 - n/a
Main Authors: Liu, Zhijun, Tang, Hui, Jin, Qiyun, Wang, Guanghai, Yang, Zixin, Chen, Hongyan, Yan, Hongxia, Rao, Wenjie, Owens, Judith
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 01.02.2021
Subjects:
Child
Child, Preschool
Chinese preschoolers
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID‐19 outbreak
Disease Outbreaks
Family Health - statistics & numerical data
Female
home confinement
Humans
Male
Pandemics
Parent-Child Relations
Parenting - psychology
Polysomnography
Risk Factors
Sleep - physiology
Sleep Deprivation - epidemiology
sleep disturbances
Sleep Hygiene - physiology
sleep patterns
Surveys and Questionnaires
sleep patterns
home confinement
sleep disturbances
Chinese preschoolers
COVID-19 outbreak
ISSN:0962-1105, 1365-2869, 1365-2869
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has resulted in a significantly large number of psychological consequences, including sleep health. The present study evaluated sleep patterns, sleep disturbances, and associated factors in Chinese preschoolers confined at home during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Caregivers of 1619 preschoolers (aged 4–6 years) recruited from 11 preschools in Zunyi, Guizhou province completed the Children’s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) between 17th and 19th February 2020. Data were compared to a sociodemographically similar sample of preschoolers (included in the 11 preschools) in 2018. Compared to the 2018 sample, the confined preschoolers demonstrated changes in sleep patterns characterized by later bedtimes and wake times, longer nocturnal and shorter nap sleep durations, comparable 24‐hr sleep duration, and fewer caregiver‐reported sleep disturbances. Moreover, behavioural practices (sleeping arrangement, reduced electronic device use, regular diet) and parenting practices (harmonious family atmosphere and increased parent‐child communication) were associated with less sleep disturbances in the confined sample. The present study provides the first description of the impact of prolonged home confinement during the COVID‐19 outbreak on sleep patterns and sleep disturbances in preschoolers, as well as highlighting the importance of the link between sleep health and family factors. Given that disrupted and insufficient sleep has been linked to immune system dysfunction, our findings also have potential implications for resilience to infection in young children during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Future studies should further explore deficient sleep as a risk factor for coronavirus infection.
Bibliography:Funding information
Zhijun Liu and Hui Tang are co‐first authors and contributed equally
ZL was supported by the Doctoral Fund of Zunyi Medical University (FB‐2014‐5); GW was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81601162, 81773443), Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning (20164Y0001), Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (19QA1405800, 19411968800, 17XD1402800, 18JC142035), Shanghai Pudong District Technology Development Funds (PKJ2018‐Y45), and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Innovation Team on Pediatric Research Funds and Child Developing Brian Research Center Construction Funds.
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ISSN:0962-1105
1365-2869
1365-2869
DOI:10.1111/jsr.13142