Does sleep deprivation affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of healthy children? To find an answer to this question, researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre in USA carried out a secondary analysis of the Daily Rest, Eating, and Activity Monitoring (DREAM) trial. For this they recruited 100 healthy children in New Zealand, ages ranging from 8 to 12 years (10.3 years mean), who slept for 8-11 hours at night, as reported by the parents/guardians. The children went to bed one hour later than their usual time (sleep restriction) for one week and after a washout period of one week, their bedtime was shifted to one hour earlier (sleep extension) for a week. However, their waking up time remained the same.

The 7-night actigraphy measure was used to evaluate sleep time and duration of sleep. The PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) 8-item Pediatric Sleep Disturbance and the 8-item Sleep-Related Impairment scales were used to assess the nighttime sleep disturbance and daytime impairment. The HRQoL was assessed with the help of the 27-item KIDSCREEN questionnaire.

Results showed that during the week when sleep was restricted by one hour, the children went to bed 64 minutes later and the wake time was 18 minutes later resulting in “39 minutes less of total sleep per night compared with the sleep extension week in which the total sleep time was 71 minutes less in the per-protocol sample analysis”, note the authors.

Although there were fewer sleep disturbances at night, as reported by both the children and their parents, greater sleep impairment was seen during the day in the sleep restriction week. Children reported significant decline in physical well-being and total HRQoL score with sleep restriction. Their ability to cope with school was also adversely affected.

These results demonstrate that even a small decrease in the duration of nighttime sleep, which was 39 minutes less sleep every night as shown in this study, can have a major effect on HRQoL in children. The results are significant because these changes occurred over just one week of sleep deprivation. Hence, adequate amounts of good quality sleep is imperative for overall physical and mental well-being of the children.

Reference

1. Taylor RW, et al. Effect of sleep changes on health-related quality of life in healthy children: a secondary analysis of the DREAM Crossover Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Mar 1;6(3):e233005. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3005.