Influence of the School Schedule in the Sleep/Wake Cycle in Preschool Children in a Public School

*Corresponding author e-mail: alinebelisio@yahoo.com.br Introduction: Ontogenetic, individual and cultural changes modifies the sleep/wake cycle in infancy. Moreover, this phase is marked by changes in the psychosocial environment, such as the school schedule, which modify the pattern of sleep. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the school schedule in the sleep/wake cycle in preschool children in a public school according with gender. Methods: Participated 19 children that attended to school on the morning (9 boys and 10 girls), aged 4-6 years. The research was conducted in two stages: 1st - meeting with parents, delivery of the consent forms and characterization of the habits of sleep, with the application of sleep habits questionnaire and economic classification, and 2nd - characterization of patterns of sleep by sleep log by 7 days and observation of behavior in the classroom by 5 days (first observation: 07:35-08:20 a.m.; second observation: 09:45-10:35 a.m.). There were observed the frequency of yawning, rubbing the eye, stretching and stooping on the desk. The questionnaires were filled by parents. Results: During the school days, the time in bed duration decreased (boys: 29min and girls: 56min) and the children wokeup earlier (boys: 70min and girls: 75min) than weekends (t test, p < 0.05). The frequency of yawn and stretch was higher at the first interval of observation (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05). The girls slept and woke-up earlier in the week and went to bed earlier in the weekend than boys. Moreover, the girls have a higher frequency of nap than boys (t test, p < 0.05). Conclusion: From the preliminary results, we suggest that the preschool children showed signs of sleep partial deprivation associated to extension and reduction of sleep, mainly in girls, probably due to the school morning schedule. However, is necessary to extent the sample to confirm this hypothesis. Publication History Article published online: 16 June 2026 © 2009. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil