| In the past decade, researchers have gained a better understanding of adolescent sleep needs, and have developed a growing concern for the chronically insufficient quantity and quality of sleep experienced by up to 80% of today's youth (National Sleep Foundation, 2006). While tolerance for inadequate sleep varies among individuals, a growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that inadequate sleep results in varying degrees of increased daytime sleepiness, and may negatively impact health, behavior, emotions, and academic achievement. The underlying causes of insufficient quantity and quality of sleep may be related to behavioral, environmental, and /or physiological factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate an educational program designed to increase nightly sleep time towards a target goal of the recommended 9 hours per night. The educational program, Sleep For Your Health, aimed to increase awareness of the importance of adequate sleep in 12-14 year old adolescents through implementation of a school-based curriculum. Two theories, Bruner's (1966) Discovery Learning model and Bronfenbrenner's (2005) bio-ecological theory, provided the framework for curriculum development. The pretest-posttest study with an intervention group and a control group included two classes of combined 7th and 8th grade students (n=48) attending an urban public middle school. Total sleep time (TST) was measured using wrist actigraphy. Daytime sleepiness (DS) was measured using the Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire (CASQ). Following the educational program, conducted weekly for six consecutive weeks, TST and DS were reassessed. No significant relationship existed between TST and DS, or sleep quality and DS. No significant changes in mean TST or DS scores occurred in the intervention group compared to the control group. Student and parent scores on a post-intervention quiz demonstrated a strong understanding of the concepts presented in the Sleep for Your Health curriculum. On the post-intervention survey, the majority of students indicated they were trying to get more nightly sleep, with 55% demonstrating an increase in sleep time by an average of 65 minutes a night. Based on post-intervention feedback from participants, the approach was acceptable, with only minor suggestions offered for improvement in the curriculum. |
