Insufficient sleep duration is associated with worse self-rated health and more psychosomatic health complaints in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between sleep duration and self-rated health and psychosomatic health complaints in a representative sample of Slovak adolescents aged 13 and 15 years.

BACKGROUND

According to empirically supported recommendations adolescents age 13 to 18 years old should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

METHODS

We used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia comprising 8,405 adolescents aged from 11 to 15 years (mean age 13.43; 50.9% boys). Presented are results for specific age groups of 13-years old (n = 1,909) and 15-years old (n = 1,293) adolescents. Linear regression models adjusted for age and gender were used to asses associations between sleep duration and self-rated health and psychosomatic complaints. The modifications of the associations by age and gender were also explored.

RESULTS

Insufficient sleep duration (less than 8hours) was significantly associated with worse self-rated health and more overall as well as specific psychosomatic health complaints including headache, backache, feeling low, irritability and bad temper, feeling nervous, sleeping difficulties and feeling dizzy.

CONCLUSION

In order to promote the health and well-being of adolescents, interventions to improve sleep duration are needed (Tab. 3, Ref. 36).