The Effect of Sleep Hygiene Training Implemented

Sleep; It is a physiological need that has a very strong effect on increasing the quality of life of individuals. Good and quality sleep for children, which has an important place in the lives of all living things; important for their health and well-being. in children; ensuring healthy growth and development, establishment of homeostatic balance mechanism, sensory and hormonal development, improvement of metabolism and immune system, cognitive development, memory, academic performance, cardiovascular risk, obesity; Psychological conditions such as depression, suicidality, paranoia, and hallucinations have been associated with sleep quality and adequacy.

Proper sleep habits are needed for quality and adequate sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, these habits include practices such as regular bedtimes, sleep routines, screen restrictions before bedtime. A circadian rhythm develops until the age of 6, and after the age of 6, the habit of being a night owl or getting up early is observed. In addition, with the school starting age (after the age of 6), children enter into a busy schedule and their sleeping habits may change. Adequate sleep time for school-age children is 9-11 hours.

With the age of starting school in children; Due to the roles brought by school, lessons and social obligations, problems such as delay in bedtime and shorter sleep time are observed. Shortening of sleep time causes sleep deprivation. sleep deprivation; It is defined as a delay in bedtime and a shorter sleep time than it should be, either intentionally or due to daily actions. sleep deprivation in children; It causes decrease in cognitive performance, poor school performance, weakening of mental abilities, daytime sleepiness, lack of physical activity, obesity and changes in dietary habits (short sleep calorie foods and carbonated drink consumption; adequate sleep fruit and vegetable consumption. For these reasons, it is of great importance to eliminate sleep deprivation in children. The use of sleep hygiene interventions to address sleep deprivation in children is highly effective. Sleep hygiene is a set of behaviors that aim to improve sleep quality by eliminating bad sleep habits. Sleep hygiene is a cost-effective method that is performed without the need for any additional material, consisting of both environmental and behavioral habits. It is known that sleep hygiene interventions, especially performed at school, are very effective and applicable.

When the literature is examined, sleep hygiene interventions are generally focused on children with a health problem (hyperactivity, autism, sleep problems, etc. Although the effects of sleep on school performance are known, interventions to improve the sleep quality of healthy school-age children are very few. School is a very effective environment in developing healthy behavior, and the home environment is important for the behavior to continue. For these reasons, in our study, school-age children who do not have any health problems will be handled using both the school environment and the home environment. The research to be carried out is unique from other studies in that it aims to create behavior in children by using the school and home environment together and by attracting the attention of the materials used by the children. As a result of the examinations (yök thesis, google academic Turkish, etc.), our research is the first in Turkey in terms of being aimed at healthy children, the intervention for both children and families, and a quasi-experimental research design.

Inclusion criteria

• The child is studying in the 4th grade (9-11 years old)
• Ability to read, write and speak Turkish
• The willingness of the family and the child to participate in the research
• Having internet access

Exclusion criteria

• Using any sleeping pills
• Presence of a concomitant chronic disease
• Having received any training on sleep
• Existence of a situation that will prevent the understanding of the given education