Abstract Introduction Social jetlag (SJL), resulting from later sleep timing on weekends compared with weekdays, is common in adults and adolescents, and often contributes to weekday sleep loss that may be accompanied by compensatory weekend oversleep. In children, SJL emerges early, increases with age, and has been linked to consequences such as higher BMI and cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. Little is known about whether children with SJL engage in compensatory sleep behaviors for weekday sleep loss and whether these behaviors vary across racial/ethnic groups. Methods We examined weekend oversleep and daytime napping in 5,936 Non-Hispanic White (50.7%), Asian (11.6%), Hispanic/Latino (20.8%), and Black/African-American (16.9%) preschool (2–5 y) and school-age (6–11 y) children from the NIH Environmental Influence on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) study. Caregivers reported demographic information and sleep outcomes via the ECHO Demographics of Child Questionnaire and the ECHO Child Sleep Health Questionnaire. Weekend oversleep was calculated as the difference between weekend and weekday sleep duration. SJL was categorized as ≤30 minutes, 31-60 minutes, and ≥60 minutes. Linear models examined the main and interaction effects of age, sex, and race/ethnicity for all outcomes. Results In both preschool and school-age children, weekend oversleep (prevalence and duration) and napping (prevalence of at least one nap per week and weekly total nap duration) increased across SJL categories (all ps .001). Controlling for age, weekend oversleep and napping were more prevalent and of longer duration for Black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino children compared with White and Asian children, with more pronounced differences in school-age children (all ps .001). Conclusion Greater weekend oversleep and napping with increasing SJL may reflect effects of SJL on weekday sleep duration and efficiency. Racial/ethnic differences in these behaviors were evident and may relate to group differences in SJL and/or sleep duration. Understanding these relationships is important for addressing sleep health disparities and promoting more consistent and restorative sleep in childhood. Support (if any)
Meredith et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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