Sleep Habits of Turkish Preschool Children

Purpose: This study aims to a) provide a detailed description of sleep habits and problems, b) to compare sleep habits and problems among 4-6-year-old typically developing Turkish children, c) to find out parental views on problem sleep behavior. Methods: Participants consisted of 702 parents. Children’s age ranged from 4 to 6 years. Demographics Information Survey and the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) were administered to parents. Results: Across different age groups bedtime was not different for weekdays. Bedtime during weekends, however, differed across different age groups. Older children were going to bed later. Wake-up time and bedtime for weekdays differed for children who attend preschool. Children attending preschool woke up earlier and went to bed earlier. Sleep duration did not differ for both weekdays and weekends. There was no gender difference in terms of bedtime, wake-up time, and sleep duration for both weekdays and weekends. However, girls’ daytime sleepiness scores and sleep onset delay scores were higher. Conclusions: Sleep problems are prevalent among young Turkish children. Comparing the CSHQ overall and subscale scores of this study with other studies, the most important differences were seen in the bedtime resistance and the sleep anxiety subscales. These discrepancies indicate a cultural difference in bedtime resistance and sleep anxiety of Turkish preschool children. Future research should investigate the effects of parenting and discipline on sleep behavior and problems. Effective intervention programs are needed in order to reduce problems related to bedtime resistance and sleep anxiety of Turkish preschoolers.