Sleep Education for Primary School Students by Occupational Therapists in Japan: A Pilot Study through a Health Promotion Project

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of sleep education provided by occupational therapists on elementary school students. The study subjects were students at a public elementary school in a mountainous area in Japan. Two occupational therapists working at a university delivered 45 min lectures on sleep to students from grades one to six. The upper-grade students filled-out a sleep-breakfast survey daily, for 2 weeks, following which, the second sleep education lecture was delivered. The sleep disorder-related symptoms showed insignificant differences in the lower grade students. The number of upper-grade students with excessive daytime sleepiness declined post intervention (p = .039).