Daily and seasonal sleep patterns among school students.

Abstract

Sleep is a fundamental part of the body's daily cycle. It is essential for proper physical development, emotional strength, performance, and to maintain mental functioning. Insufficient or poor sleep quality is a common problem in adolescents that affects learning, memory, and school performance. Despite previous studies focused on correctional studies on sleep among the human population, research tracking the same participants continuously across different seasons to understand how sleep patterns change over the seasons is limited. Further, most studies of adolescent sleep patterns are conducted in low-altitude regions, whereas this study focuses on students living at a moderately high altitude. This altitudinal gradient makes this population biologically diverse. Given the importance of sleep for students, this study aimed to determine daily and seasonal sleep patterns among ongoing school students. The study included 456 school students (216 male and 240 female). The seasonal sleep patterns were conducted over the four months: March, June, September, and December. Different self-administered questionnaires were used in the study, and their sleep/wake patterns were recorded using an armband actigraphy. The results show that neither type (NT) dominated the study population. Participants of the evening type (ET) show poor sleep quality, more daytime sleepiness, and higher self-rating depression level. The study identified that gender-based differences exist in the self-rated depression levels and daily sleep/wake patterns, and significant delays in bedtime and get-up time were observed among male participants. Significant differences were identified across the four times of the year in the different sleep parameters, suggesting seasonal fluctuations. Gender-based differences were observed in bedtime, get-up time, time in bed, and wake after sleep onset. These findings likely represent the first documented reports from populations residing at relatively moderately high altitudes and may provide a useful reference for the development of educational and health-related policies for school students.