Sleep patterns and sleep problems in a sample of Spanish schoolchildren

Sleep in children is essential for growth, emotional health and cognitive function. Although it has been described that poor sleep can seriously affect learning capacity, this relationship remains unclear. The purposes were to: (1) describe sleep patterns and sleep problems in schoolchildren; and (2) analyze the relationship between sleep quality and quantity and academic achievement. This study included 330 children aged 8–11 years and who had complete sleep data from 20 primary schools in 20 towns from the Cuenca province, Spain. The Spanish version of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used, and parents’ educational level, and academic achievement (final grades) were measured. Analysis of covariance models was used to assess differences in academic achievement by sleep problems and sleep duration categories, controlling for age and parents’ educational level. This study found that 6.1% of the children who participated in our study slept < 9 h/day, and 9.1% of them had sleep problems. Our results showed an inverse trend between sleeping < 9 h/day and having sleep problems with academic achievement, although these differences did not reach statistical significance ( p > 0.05). In this study, a considerable proportion of the schoolchildren sleep less than recommended and have sleep problems. Sleep intervention may be important to prevent sleep problems and insufficient sleep in schoolchildren. Further research is needed to clarify the association of sleep insufficiency and problems with academic performance in schoolchildren.