Association of Sleep Duration with Stress Status and Nutritional Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) in High School Students in Chungbuk

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the association between sleep duration, stress levels, and dietary behavior in adolescents. A survey was conducted on 453 students (227 male, 226 female) in high schools in the Chungbuk area. The participants were divided into groups based on daily sleep duration group I (＜5 hrs/d), group II (≥5 hrs/d and ＜6 hrs/d), group III (≥6 hrs/d and ＜7 hrs/d), and group IV (≥7 hrs/d). To measure the stress levels of participants, the survey had questions covering a variety of areas, including school life, family life, social relationships, and personal evaluation. To assess the dietary behaviors of participants, the survey included questions encompassing the Nutrition Quotient for Korean adolescents (NQ-A). Among female students, the sleep duration group IV had significantly lower total stress (P=0.022) and significantly lower stress in the personal evaluation area than the sleep duration group I (P=0.004). In the analysis of NQ-A, among female students, the sleep duration group IV showed significantly higher scores in balance (P=0.004), diversity (P=0.016), and total NQ-A score area (P=0.007) compared to other groups. There was a significant negative correlation between sleep duration and stress scores in total students (r=–0.24, P＜0.001), while a significant positive correlation was seen between sleep duration and NQ-A scores in female students (r=0.16, P＜0.05). To sum up, the longer the sleep duration, the lower the degree of stress, and the quality of meals which can be said to be a significant finding for high school students.