Sleep Habits and Sleep Patterns in Healthy Adult Population in Chennai

Sleep disturbances affect daytime behavior and cognition functions in children. It is essential to study the quality of sleep in adolescents, as it is a way to approach their psychosocial difficulties.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of sleep disorder and to analyze the variations in sleep habits in south Indian adolescents.Materials and Methods: The study was done among 300 students in St. Bead's higher secondary school, Chennai, India. Females were excluded from this study. This was a self report study using a questionnaire. The data was collected and analyzed statistically. Results: Sleep quality: About 16% of the students have less than 6 hours of sleep per day, 70% of students have sleep between 6-8 hours per day and 18% of students have sleep more than 8 hours per day. About 41% of students have reported sleep disturbances due to exam stress. Classroom sleepiness was found in 30% of the students and evening sleep was found in 9% of the students.35% of the students are involved in television watching and 9.6% are involved in computer related activities before bedtime. It was found that 51% of the students who were involved in sporting activities had less sleep related problems but increased quality of sleep. It was also found that academic performance had no relation with sleep habits. Conclusion: The issue of day time sleepiness, television watching, night time computer related operation represents major concerns on the sleep pattern and behavior in high school children in south India.