Elsevier

Sleep Medicine

Volume 32, April 2017, Pages 75-82
Sleep Medicine

Original Article
Young child and maternal sleep in the Middle East

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2016.11.011Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Children and their mothers in the Middle East have late bedtimes and waketimes.

  • Almost all families share a room with their child, although less than half share a bed.

  • Many mothers report parent-perceived sleep problems.

  • The majority of mothers in the Middle East report poor sleep.

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to characterize sleep patterns and sleep problems in a large sample of infants and toddlers (from birth to three years) and their mothers in Arabic-speaking families in the Middle East and compare the results to those living in predominantly Asian and predominantly Caucasian countries/regions.

Methods

Mothers of 669 young children (from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, Kuwai, Oman, Palestinian territories, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Bahrain, Israel, and other Arab countries) completed an Internet-based expanded version of the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire, Daily Infant Mood Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

Results

Overall, children and their mothers in the Middle East slept on a shifted schedule, with late bedtimes and waketimes compared to those from predominantly Asian and predominantly Caucasian countries/regions. Almost all families room-shared with their children, although less than half bed-shared. A significant percentage of parents perceived that their child had a sleep problem (37%), with a high prevalence of poor sleep in mothers (72%). Parent-reported child mood was modestly associated with sleep patterns but more so with parent-perceived sleep problems. Parent-perceived sleep problems in their young child were predicted by bedtimes, prevalence of a bedtime routine, and night wakings.

Conclusions

Overall, both young children and their mothers in the Middle East have a delayed sleep schedule, going to bed late in the evening and waking up late in the morning. Sleep was associated with mood outcomes, with bedtimes, bedtime routines, and falling asleep independently predicting sleep outcomes. The high prevalence of sleep problems in both the infants and toddlers and their mothers supports the need for sleep to be addressed by pediatric and adult healthcare practitioners.

Section snippets

Participants

Mothers of 669 infants and toddlers from Arabic-speaking countries (163 Saudi Arabia, 90 Egypt, 77 Algeria, 45 United Arab Emirates, 44 Jordan, 34 Morocco, 29 Iraq, 22 Kuwai, 22 Oman, 20 Palestinian territories, 15 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 14 Bahrain, 11 Israel, and 83 from other Arab countries) participated in this study. The average age of the children was 15.9 months (range: birth to three years; SD = 10.25), evenly distributed across boys (50.2%) and girls (49.8%).

Procedure

All data were collected

Demographics

Complete demographic data for the sample are provided in Table 1. Overall, there were equal proportion of boys (50.2%) and girls (49.8%), χ2 = 0.01, p = 0.91. The majority of mothers (45.3%) were between 25 and 29 years old, most had a college degree (57.4%), and the majority were not employed outside the home (72.9%).

Child sleep

Data on nighttime and daytime sleep are presented in Table 2. Compared to both PC and PA countries/regions, young children in the ME had later bedtimes, later waketimes, more

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated sleep in infants and toddlers, and their mothers, in Arabic-speaking families in the ME. Overall, compared to PA and PC countries/regions, young children in the ME and their mothers have a delayed sleep schedule, going to bed late in the evening and waking up late in the morning. Furthermore, approximately one-third of the mothers report that their child has a sleep problem and three-quarters experience poor sleep themselves.

Conclusions

In conclusion, these results add to what is known about sleep in young children and their mothers throughout the world. There are many interesting differences and similarities. Differences include a shifted sleep schedule by one to two hours, a high number of night wakings in both the young children and their mothers, and significantly high prevalence of poor sleep in mothers. Similarities include the influence of bedtimes, bedtime routines, and falling asleep independently on sleep outcomes

Funding

This study was supported by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

Disclosure

Jodi Mindell has served as a consultant and speaker for Johnson & Johnson. Avi Sadeh has served as a consultant for Johnson & Johnson. Christina Lee is an employee of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

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