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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2017 Sep 10;108(5-6):e571–e577. doi: 10.17269/CJPH.108.6236

Factors associated with shorter night-time sleep in toddlers: The Survey of Young Canadians

Christy Costanian 1,✉, Peri Abdullah 1, Nita Sawh 1, Ara Nagapatan 1, Hala Tamim 1
PMCID: PMC6972065  PMID: 29356666

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Adequate sleep in childhood is important for healthy development. No information exists on the predictors of night-time sleep among toddlers in Canada. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and to identify factors associated with sleeping <11 consecutive hours per night among children aged 1–2 years in Canada.

METHODS: Data from the cross sectional Survey of Young Canadians (SYC) 2010 were used. The biological mother reported on toddlers’ sleep duration at night. Based on cut-off values used in previous studies, shorter night-time sleep was defined as sleeping <11 hours per night. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify the associations between socio-demographic, maternal, sleep and child-related variables with shorter sleep at night.

RESULTS: Analysis of 3675 toddlers revealed that 57% slept <11 hours per night. Results of the regression analysis showed that being from an immigrant family was significantly associated with shorter night-time sleep. Being from a higher income household, having a mother aged between 25 and 34 years at the time of the survey, and napping ≥2 hours during the day were significantly related to sleeping ≥11 hours per night. Other socio-demographic, maternal and child-related variables were not associated with night-time sleep.

CONCLUSION: This was the first population-based, nationally representative study to examine factors related to shorter night-time sleep in Canadian toddlers. Socio-demographic factors and nap duration were associated with night-time sleep duration. More adequate early childhood sleep hygiene awareness efforts are recommended, especially in vulnerable populations.

Key words: Children, sleep duration, factors, Canada

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: The authors thank the Survey of Young Canadians (SYC) Study Group, and Statistics Canada who developed and implemented the SYC survey. Although the research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed in this paper do not represent the views of Statistics Canada.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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