ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the sleep characteristics of children aged 3-12 years old in Shanghai, and to provide a reference for improving pediatric sleep health.@*Methods@#From April to June 2019, 16 542 children aged 3-12 years old were randomly selected from 31 kindergartens and 17 primary schods in Shanghai, and a cross sectional epidemiological survey was conducted using multi stage cluster sampling. The Children s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) was used to evaluate sleep characteristics.@*Results@#The bedtime routine of children in Shanghai was (21:27±00:36) and (21:46±00:46) on weekdays and weekends, respectively. Corresponding wake up times were (6:52±00:28) and (7:47±00:48), total sleep duration was (9.05±1.07) and (9.52±1.17)h, and the prevalence of inadequate sleep was 81.0% and 55.4%. The average score of sleep problems was (51.56±8.04), and the prevalence of disturbed sleep was 93.5%. With advancing age, the total sleep time of children in Shanghai decreased, and the difference in weekend weekday sleep patterns increased. Furthermore, two major sleep problems were observed, namely, short sleep duration and daytime sleepiness, which became increasingly more prominent. Girls usually went to bed later on weekdays and woke up later on weekends, and a greater difference in weekend weekday sleep patterns was observed. Moreover, psychological problems such as sleep anxiety were more serious among girls.@*Conclusion@#At present, children in Shanghai have insufficient sleep time and late bedtimes. Large differences in weekend weekday sleep patterns were observed, and various sleep problems were identified. Sleep related anxiety and differences in weekend weekday sleep patterns were particularly high among girls.