Study of sleep habits and their effective factors in children admitted to Amirkabir Hospital, Arak

Sleep disorders are the most common behavioral complaints in children. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the sleep habits of children admitted to Amirkabir Hospital, Arak, Iran.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, children aged 4 to 12 years admitted to Amirkabir Hospital clinic in 2021 were randomly studied. Data obtained from the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS24.0 software.

A total of 295 children with a mean age of 7.26±2.27 years were studied. The prevalence of the disorder in sleep habits was 67.4%. Among the children with disturbed sleep habits, 193 (96.9%) had poor sleep habits and 6 (3.1%) had average sleep habits. The total sleep habits score was significantly higher in girls, unwanted children, and children with divorced parents, low parental education level, and incompatible parents (P<0.05). However, there was no significant association between the total sleep habits score and children's age (P>0.05).

In this study, most children showed disturbed sleep habits. Considering that children's poor sleep habits may be a contributing factor for stress, pressure, and tension in the family, mass education and psychiatric intervention are needed in this regard.