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.