Sleep, Nutrition and Psychological Functioning in Kindergarten Children
Condition: Prevention Harmful Effects
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The proposed study has the following aims: (a) to assess the concomitant and longitudinal
      links between sleep and cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in kindergarten
      children; (b) to assess the immediate and the long-term effects of an intervention to promote
      healthy sleep habits (HSI) on the child's evolving sleep patterns, as well as on related
      cognitive, behavioral and health domains; (c) to assess the immediate and the long-term
      effects of an intervention deigned to promote healthy nutrition (HNI) on the eating habits of
      children, their weight and BMI measures (the comparison/control group) and (d) to assess the
      links between eating habits and sleep in kindergarten children.

      The main hypotheses of the proposed study are: (a) Shorter and more disrupted sleep would be
      concomitantly and longitudinally associated with compromised cognitive, emotional and
      behavioral functioning in kindergarten children; (b) In comparison to the HNI group, children
      in the HSI group will extend their total sleep time, improve their sleep quality and their
      sleep schedule will be more stable following the intervention; (c) improvement in sleep
      habits will be associated with improvement in cognitive, emotional and behavioral
      functioning; (d) in comparison to the HIS group, children in the HNI group will improve their
      eating habits, engage in more physical activities and better manage to achieve and maintain
      an age-appropriate body weight.
    


Intervention name(s): Healthy Sleep intervention; Healthy Nutrition intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Healthy Sleep Intervention (HSI)- This online interactive e-learning system will include information for parents on the following topics: (a) establishing appropriate bedtime, including how to assess the sleep needs of their child, how to establish regular bedtime and overall sleep schedule, how to deal with daytime naps; (b) establishing a regular and enjoyable bedtime routine (e.g. bedtime stories); (c) coping with bedtime resistance, setting limits to excessive demands, rewarding appropriate sleep related behaviors; (d) coping with bedtime and nighttime fears, strategies to deal with separation anxieties, fears of darkness, scary imaginative creatures etc; (e) coping with excessive night-wakings and eliminating potential reinforcing consequences; (f) coping with nightmares, night terrors and other parasomnias (e.g., night-walking).; Healthy Nutrition Intervention (HNI)- This online system will include information for parents on the following issues: (a) increasing awareness and making healthy food choices; (b) increasing appeal of healthy food by games, rewards, and child involvement in preparation and cooking; (c) setting rules regarding proper eating environment, family meals and schedules; (d) limiting the presence of unhealthy food and beverage temptations at home; (e) limiting TV and other screen time and increasing physical activities; (f) encouraging parents to be positive role models for all these principles.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Preschool children; Sleep problems; Nutrition problems; Online intervention; Psychological functioning