0206 The Family Environment: A Potential Driver in Children’s School-summer Sleep Differences

Abstract Introduction More than 1/3 of US children do not sleep adequately. Our previous work has shown that during summer, 5-8-year-old children go to bed later, obtain less sleep, have a lower Entrainment Sleep Regularity Index (ESRI), and have lower sleep efficiency compared to the school year. Good sleep hygiene helps support adequate sleep. We hypothesized that school year-summer differences in the family environment would explain differences in children’s sleep timing, efficiency, and ESRI. Methods 119 parents of 5-8-year-olds completed measures of child temperament, sleep hygiene, and parenting practices. Child sleep was measured for 8 days using wrist actigraphs in the summer and school year. Sleep timing was determined using the Sadeh algorithm and sleep diaries. Paired samples t-tests examined school year-summer differences in family variables. Multivariate analyses were performed to calculate predictors of sleep midpoint, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and ESRI. Results Compared to the school year, during summer parents reported less consistent bedtime routines (t(108)=3.388, p<.001), increased average daily screen use (t(107)=-3.194, p=.001), less parent-child sleep conflict (t(108)=3.388, p<.001) and greater child surgency (impulsivity) (t(108)=-2.960, p=.004). During the school year, chronotype (β=3.639, p<.001), greater sleep reinforcement (β=-2.005, p=.041), greater caffeine use (β=5.312, p=.02), lower negative affect (β=-10.156, p=.039), and greater effortful control (β=14.253, p=.014) predicted later sleep midpoint. Greater bedtime routine consistency predicted lower sleep efficiency (β=-0.154, p=.032). During the summer, chronotype (β=5.542, p<.001) and decreased bedtime routine consistency predicted later sleep midpoints (β=-2.438, p=.016). Greater maladaptive bedtime activities (β=-.009, p=.004), greater sleep reinforcement (β=-.007, p=.036), and greater screen media use (β=-.003, p=.019) predicted lower ESRI. Conclusion Concerningly, maladaptive bedtime behaviors and screen media use predicted lower ESRI during the summer, which has been associated with increases in children’s BMI over the summer. Overall, these results suggest factors that contribute to unhealthy sleep habits differ during the school year and summer. During the school year, it may be important to encourage families to limit caffeine while during summer, promoting consistent bedtime routines and limiting screen media may help improve children’s sleep, with potential BMI effects. Support (if any) Texas Children’s Pediatric Pilot Award