Wakefulness-Sleep Patterns and their Relationship to Practicing of Sports, Quality of Sleep and Academic Performance in School Students

Objective: The aim of the study was to study the chronotype of school students in the preparatory stage in Egypt (10-14 years) and its relationship to practicing sports, sleep and academic performance. Methods: 158 preparatory school students participated in the present cross-sectional study. Their demographic characteristics were collected. The self administered questionnaire Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) and the Disturbance in Initiating and Maintaining Sleep (DIMS) subscale of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) were used to determine chronotype and level of disturbance of sleep respectively. Results: We found that 19.2% of the sample was of morning type, most of the sample (74.4%) was of the intermediate type and 6.4% of it was of evening type. It was found that: not practicing sports (P=0.001), presence of disturbance in initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) (P=0.000), and lower academic performance was significantly associated with the evening type. Conclusion: Most of school students in the preparatory period in Egypt were of the intermediate chronotype. Evening type was significantly associated with no practicing of sports, sleep problems and lower academic performance.