Sleep Duration in Association with Subjective Health and Well-Being. Summary of the Doctoral Thesis
Authors:   ,   Rīga Stradiņš University, Kļaviņa-Makrecka Solvita 
Published: June 2023

Introduction. Insufficient sleep is an important indicator of overall health in the adolescent population and is recognized as a global, growing public health problem, the importance of which is often under-estimated and under-reported. Research results highlight the relationship between adolescent sleep and the ability to function daily, the quality of forming social contacts and the ability to overcome stressful situations. Insufficient sleep is also associated with more frequent health complaints. Over the past 100 years, the average length of sleep for teenagers has decreased by an average of 70 minutes, mainly at the expense of ever later bedtimes, while wake-up times have remained relatively unchanged – mostly linked to the start of school, thus increasing the share of teenagers at risk of insufficient sleep. The aim of the Thesis was to investigate insufficient sleep duration in relation to self-rated health and well-being among adolescents in Latvia. Material and methods. Data from a representative cross-sectional International Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study of the 2017/2018. survey in Latvia were used, analyzing data on a total of 4305 11, 13 and 15 y.o. adolsecnts. Total sleep duration up to 7 h was classified as insufficient, while 7 and more hours of sleep was classified as sufficient. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to study the associations between adolescent family, home, and school environment psychosocial factors, self-rated health, leisure-time habits, and insufficient sleep duration, by determining unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios, and examining interaction with adolescent age and gender. Results. Insufficient sleep duration was detected for 19.3 % of adolescents on school days and – 4.4 % on non-school days. Incomplete family structure, dissatisfaction with school, high schoolwork pressure, regular health complaints of headaches, stomach aches, backaches and difficulties falling asleep, as well as > 4.5 h use of electronic devices increased the odds of insufficient sleep both on school days and on non-school days. 11 y.o. had especially higher odds of insufficient sleep in relation to dissatisfaction with school and high schoolwork pressure, 11 and 13 y.o. – in association with prolonged use of electronic devices and 15 y.o. boys – in relation to incomplete family structure. Regardless of the adolescent's age and gender, regular suffering from bullying, poor self-rated health, nervousness, non–participation in any type of extracurricular organized activities and insufficient level of intensive physical activity increased, while living in the same room with another family member – decreased the odds of insufficient sleep only on school days. Insufficient level of daily physical activity reduced the odds of insufficient sleep on non-school days. No association was found between the subjective level of family affluence and adolescent sleep duration. Conclusions. Subjective health and well-being has significant association with adolescent sleep duration, highlighting especially strong relationships between particular studied factors and insufficient sleep duration in certain adolescent age and gender groups. Differences in the strength of influence of the analyzed factors affecting sleep duration on school days and weekdays were also found.