障害児の睡眠習慣

Sleep habits were examined for sixty mentally retarded children (aged 6 to 18 years old) who attended a special education school in Tottori, Japan. A Questionnaire of Life Habits (Ishihara, 1997) was completed by parents which consisted of 38 items related to night sleep (bedtime, sleep time, sleep latency etc.), subjective evaluation of sleep, naps, parasomnia and life style. A comparison was made of the data obtained from children in primary school (n=14), junior high school (n=18) and senior high school (n=25). Children in senior high school, aged 15 to 18 years old (puberty), showed a significant tendency to have a delayed bedtime, short sleep time, and strong daytime sleepiness (naps and dozing). Two groups were differentiated in terms of their bedtime on weekdays: a delayed group (bedtime 23.2± 0.26h, n=11) and an advanced group (bedtime 20.9± 0.19h, n=12). Children in the delayed group indicated a characteristic of eveningness or owl type of sleep, such as sitting up later on weekends, being less satisfied with their sleep time, and feeling worse in the morning.