The Impact of Media Use on Sleep Patterns and Sleep Disorders among School-Aged Children in China

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the amount of television viewing and computer use in urban school-aged Chinese children, and to examine their associations with sleep/wake patterns, duration of sleep, and sleep disorders. DESIGN AND SETTING: Students representing 8 Chinese cities were studied during November and December 2005. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 19,299 elementary-school children, 49.7% boys and 50.3% girls, with a mean age of 9.00 years, participated in the survey. MEASUREMENTS: A parent-administered questionnaire and the Chinese version of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire were completed to quantify media use and to characterize sleep patterns and sleep disturbances. RESULTS: A television or computer was present in the bedroom of 18.5% and 18.3% of Chinese school-aged children, respectively. Media presence in the bedroom and media use were positively correlated with later bedtimes, later awakening times, and a shorter duration of sleep during weekdays and weekends. They were also significantly associated with at least 2 types of sleep disturbances. Overall, the most affected sleep behaviors were bedtime and awakening time on the weekends, the duration of sleep during the weekdays, and sleep disorders of bedtime resistance and sleep anxiety. Television viewing > or = 2 hours/day on weekends, with a prevalence of 48.8%, was the predominant risk factor for all sleep disorders with the exception of the sleep duration disorder. Computer use, however, had no correlation with any sleep disorder. CONCLUSION: The presence of media in a child's bedroom and media use had a negative effect on children's sleep/wake patterns, duration of sleep, and sleep disorders.