Sleep, stress and eating attitudes predict concentration at school

• Background: Sleep, stress and eating habits may affect concentration in school. These factors are probably interrelated, but have never been studied together as predictors of concentration. The purpose of this study, based on secondary analysis of previously collected data, was to evaluate if/how low sleep quality, perceived stress and negative attitudes to eating at school predict self-reported concentration difficulties in school in 11-15-year-olds. Methods: 1 124 students (grades 6-9) from 14 schools (a representative sample from a metropolitan area) filled in a questionnaire at school with questions about socio-demographic data, sleep, perceived stress, school eating attitudes and concentration in school. Results: Logistic regression analysis with mutual adjustment for all predictors, as well as for grade and gender yielded an odds ratio (OR) for the stress component "pressure" of 3.05 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.73-4.38), OR = 1.70 (1.20-2.42) for school eating attitude, and OR = 2.57 (1.78-3.71) for difficulties sleeping. Conclusion: Sleep, stress, and eating attitudes independently seem to predict perceived problems of concentration in school, suggesting that a multi-focus approach of life-style patterns may be suitable when trying to improve students' ability to concentrate in school.

Nyckelord

sleep

stress

eating

concentration

school

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)