title: Sleep and sleepiness among working and non-working high school evening students.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate patterns of sleepiness, comparing working and non-working students. The study was conducted on high school students attending evening classes (19:00-22:30 h) at a public school in São Paulo, Brazil. The study group consisted of working (n=51) and non-working (n=41) students, aged 14-21 yrs. The students answered a questionnaire about working and living conditions and reported health symptoms and diseases. For seven consecutive days, actigraphy measurements were recorded, and the students also filled in a sleep diary. Sleepiness ratings were given six times per day, including upon waking and at bedtime, using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale. Statistical analyses included three-way ANOVA and t-test. The mean sleep duration during weekdays was shorter among workers (7.2 h) than non-workers (8.8 h) (t=4.34; p<.01). The mean duration of night awakenings was longer among workers on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (28.2 min) and shorter on Mondays (24.2 min) (t=2.57; p=.03). Among workers, mean napping duration was longer on Mondays and Tuesdays (89.9 min) (t=2.27; p=.03) but shorter on Fridays and Sundays (31.4 min) (t=3.13; p=.03). Sleep efficiency was lower on Fridays among non-workers. Working students were moderately sleepier than non-workers during the week and also during class on specific days: Mondays (13:00-15:00 h), Wednesdays (19:00-22:00 h), and Fridays (22:00-00:59 h). The study found that daytime sleepiness of workers is moderately higher in the evening. This might be due to a work effect, reducing the available time for sleep and shortening the sleep duration. Sleepiness and shorter sleep duration can have a negative impact on the quality of life and school development of high school students.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. lrt@usp.br
authors.forename: Liliane Reis
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lowden
authors.forename: Samantha Lemos
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Turte
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Claudia Roberta de Castro
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Maria do Rosário Dias de Oliveira
authors.initials: Mdo R
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.forename: Frida Marina
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil; D003710:Demography; D004651:Employment; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D011788:Quality of Life; D012574:Schools; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000503:physiopathology; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors