Introduction As no previous studies have characterised the sleep of school-age children in Shaqra Province, Saudia Arabia, the aim of the current research was to assess the frequency of behaviours associated with common paediatric sleep difficulties in this population using the Arabic version of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire.

Methods The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used to measure self-reported and parent-reported bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, night wakings, parasomnias, sleep disordered breathing and daytime sleepiness.³ Families were recruited through six schools and parents were asked to complete the questionnaire on behalf of children aged 7–12 years old, whereas adolescents completed the self-reported version.

Results 150 females and 139 males aged between 7–17 years old were recruited (see table 1). 92% of the children and adolescents had a score of 41 or above indicating that they have a clinically significant sleep problem (89% of males and 95% of females).

Results also indicated that there was a significant difference between males and females in secondary school in total score of CSHQ and sub score (sleep duration, sleep anxiety and sleep parasomnia). In addition, there was a significant difference between males and females in intermediate school in sub score of CSHQ in bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety and sleep disorder breathing (see table 2).

Discussion The current study highlights the high prevalence of clinically significant sleep problems in this population. The results are consistent with previous research which suggests that children from Saudi Arabia sleep less than children in other countries,¹ that males have longer sleep durations compared to females and that females report more daytime sleepiness compared to males.² The results suggest that increasing awareness of the importance of sleep and how to develop healthy sleep habits would be beneficial in this population.

References

1. BaHammam A, Bin Saeed A, Al-Faris E, Shaikh S. Sleep duration and its correlates in a sample of Saudi elementary school children. Singapore medical journal ( 2006);47(10):875.

2. Lee KA, Mcenany G, Weekes D. Gender differences in sleep patterns for early adolescents. Journal of adolescent health;24(1):16–20.

3. Owens JA, Spirito A, McGuinn M ( 2000). The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ): psychometric properties of a survey instrument for school-aged children. Sleep-New York;23(8), 1043–1052.