Sleep Habits of School-Age Children and Time Spent on Electronic Media in Nsukka Urban, Enugu State

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between the sleep habits of school-aged children and the time they spend on electronic media in Nsukka local government area, Enugu state. Four research purposes guided the study. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The sample size was 700 primary four and five pupils from 12 registered primary schools in the study
area. The questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts from the Department of Home Science and Management, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Cronbach Alpha reliability test was used to obtain a high coefficient of 0.82. Data collected were coded into the Statistical Product and Service Solution (IBM-SPSS) version 23.00. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation, and chi-square were used for data analysis. The findings showed that the household income of more than half (56.1%) of the respondents was above ₦50,000 per month. Regarding the sleep habits of respondents, 69.40% of them had healthy sleep habits while 30.6% of them had unhealthy sleep habits. The majority (92.9%) of the children used electronic media in moderate amounts while 7.1% used electronic media excessively. The most commonly used electronic media by the respondents was television (31.0%) and the least used was headphones (9.6%). The respondents engaged in media activities such as watching cartoons, animation, films, and video clips; playing games; listening to music; taking pictures; and chatting with friends. Findings showed that no significant relationship existed between respondents’ sleep habits and electronic media use. It was recommended that school administrators should organize seminars/talks for the teachers, caregivers, and parents on the importance of healthy sleep habits to children.