(Press-News.org) Children have poor quality sleep. A new study carried out in Valencia shows that 37.4% of children aged from 6 to 8, 25.3% of those aged between 9 and 11, and 31.8% of those aged from 12 to 15 wake up feeling refreshed only once a week, or even not at all. The results also show that 4.26% of them fall asleep in class more than three times per week.
"It is important to point out that the way we sleep throughout our lives depends on how we learn to sleep as children", Gonzalo Pin Arboledas, lead author of this study and a doctor at the Valencian Sleep Unit at the Quirón Hospital of Valencia, tells SINC. "This is why we need to place particular focus on health education".
The study, carried out in the region of Valencia, but which can be extrapolated to the rest of Spain, is based on children's own opinions about the quality of their sleep, and analyses their distribution according to age, sex and geographical origin. The sample (1,507 surveys) was drawn proportionally from the three provinces in the region according to areas of residence – urban or rural, coastal or inland.
The results, published in the journal Anales de Pediatría, show that between 76.1% and 91.2% of children feel that they have some kind of sleep-related problem and 53.9% of those aged from 12 to 15 have nightmares more than once a week. In addition, 37.4% of those aged from 6 to 8, 25.3% of those aged from 9 to 11 and 31.8% of those between 12 and 15 wake up feeling refreshed only once a week, or not at all.
Gonzalo Pin says that "teachers say 4.26% of schoolchildren fall asleep in class more than three times per week, which shows that these children have a poor quality of sleep, and they themselves are aware of it". The conclusions, which mirror statistics from other Western countries, show that children suffer from chronic lack of sleep due to bad habits they acquire.
"The most striking point is that 15% of the sample have no regular time for going to bed on school nights – in other words these very small children are left to decide for themselves when to go to bed. We live in a 24-hour society, which sends out a signal to young people that sleep is of no great importance, when in fact sleep plays a major role in the fight against obesity and poor school performance", the researcher explains.
The authors will present these results to the public authorities, so they can take whatever health education measures they see fit. "Society has changed, and it is important to adapt to these changes without overlooking children's education. We need to increase education measures and make people aware of the importance of sleep", they conclude.
INFORMATION:
References:
G. Pin Arboledas, M. Cubel Alarcón, G. Martin González, A. Lluch Roselló y M. Morell Salort. "Hábitos y problemas con el sueño de los 6 a los 14 años en la Comunidad Valenciana. Opinión de los propios niños". Anales de Pediatría 74(2):103—115, febrero de 2011.
One-third of Spanish children do not wake up feeling refreshed
2011-05-10
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Virtual possessions have powerful hold on teenagers, Carnegie Mellon researchers say
2011-05-10
PITTSBURGH—Digital imagery, Facebook updates, online music collections, email threads and other immaterial artifacts of today's online world may be as precious to teenagers as a favorite book that a parent once read to them or a t-shirt worn at a music festival, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers say.
The very fact that virtual possessions don't have a physical form may actually enhance their value, researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and School of Design discovered in a study of 21 teenagers. A fuller appreciation of ...
How did debt and credit become the 'American way'?
2011-05-10
Taking on significant debt has become "normal"—and even patriotic—to some consumers, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"How did America, a country once so indelibly marked with Puritan principles of self-discipline and thrift, become a nation so awash in personal debt?" ask authors Lisa Peñaloza (École des Hautes Études Commerciales du Nord—EDHEC) and Michelle Barnhart (Oregon State University).
The researchers interviewed 27 white, middle-class Americans before the 2008 financial crisis and found that even though consumers believe that ...
Faking it: Can ads create false memories about products?
2011-05-10
People who read vivid print advertisements for fictitious products actually come to believe they've tried those products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Exposing consumers to imagery-evoking advertising increases the likelihood that a consumer mistakenly believes he/she has experienced the advertised product, and subsequently produces attitudes that are as strong as attitudes based on genuine product experience," write authors Priyali Rajagopal (Southern Methodist University) and Nicole Montgomery (College of William and Mary).
In one ...
Henry Ford Hospital study: Open-access colonoscopy is safe
2011-05-10
DETROIT – Nurse-driven, open-access colonoscopy programs are as effective and safe as colonoscopy following a consultation with a gastroenterologist, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.
"Our results showed no significant differences in safety outcomes related to perforation rate, emergent surgery, post-polypectomy bleed, overall lower gastrointestinal bleed, or death," says Gregory Olds, M.D., chief of interventional gastroenterology and director of endoscopy at Henry Ford Hospital and co-author of the study.
With a nurse-driven open access program, a ...
Go for broke: Consumers who set conservative goals feel less satisfied
2011-05-10
Consumers who set conservative goals have a harder time achieving satisfaction than those who set ambitious goals, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. When cautious consumers meet their goals, they tend to raise the bar and compare themselves to the highest possible standards.
Authors Cecile K. Cho (University of California, Riverside) and Venkataramani Johar (Columbia University) compared people who set conservative goals with people who set ambitious goals. They focused on situations in which goals were achieved, and measured the level of satisfaction ...
Report: Direct removal of carbon dioxide from air likely not viable
2011-05-10
Technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are unlikely to offer an economically feasible way to slow human-driven climate change for several decades, according to a report issued by the American Physical Society and led by Princeton engineer Robert Socolow.
"We humans should not kid ourselves that we can pour all the carbon dioxide we wish into the atmosphere right now and pull it out later at little cost," said Socolow, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
The report, issued by a committee of 13 experts, was co-chaired by Socolow ...
Constrained consumers: When do people consider what they have to give up in order to buy something?
2011-05-10
Every time consumers spend money on a purchase, they are giving up other consumption down the road. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research looks at the factors that lead consumers to consider these "opportunity costs."
"Rather than viewing a decision as 'Do I buy or do I not buy?' consumers feeling constrained view the decision as 'Do I buy or do I use my money on something else instead?'" writes author Stephen Spiller (UCLA). Feeling constrained is one major factor that leads consumers to consider how purchasing something now will affect what they can purchase ...
How do creative ads shake up the way we think?
2011-05-10
Innovative ads can help creative consumers break away from their existing thought patterns, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. These creative stimuli can affect the way consumers process information about different products.
"Creative marketing stimuli are pervasive in the marketplace as marketers and advertisers scramble to break through the clutter to attract consumers' attention and win their approval," write authors Xiaojing Yang (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee), Torsten Ringberg (Copenhagen Business School), Huifang Mao (University of ...
Study finds teens often willing to accept free or low-cost rapid HIV testing
2011-05-10
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine HIV testing for everyone between the ages of 13-64 as part of their regular medical care, testing rates remain low among adolescents. However, a new study from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center suggests teens who are offered free or low-cost rapid HIV testing are often willing to accept the test.
According to findings published in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, more than half of all adolescents accepted a free rapid HIV test immediately ...
Dinner with the in-laws: Why does knowing how long a bad experience will last make it worse?
2011-05-10
Knowing how long a good experience will last makes it better, but being aware of the duration of an unpleasant event makes it worse, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But people usually predict the opposite effect.
"Which is more enjoyable, knowing the exact duration of a dinner with a charming friend or not knowing it? What if the dinner is with disliked in-laws?" ask authors Min Zhao and Claire I. Tsai (University of Toronto). People often assume that knowing the duration of a pleasant event will "kill the fun," whereas knowing the duration ...