Sleep duration among Chinese children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old

Objective To describe sleep duration and associated problems among Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 -17 years old,and to provide basic information for intervention strategies.Methods Data came from 2010-2012 China National Nutrition and Health Surveillance.By using muhi-stage stratified cluster randomization sampling method,sleep data of 38 744 children and adolescents was analyzed.Age and sex standardization was performed based on the China 2009 population published by National Statistics Bureau.Results The average sleep duration of Chinese children and adolescents was 8.45 h/d,with no difference between urban and rural area (8.43 h and 8.48 h),or between boys and girls (8.47 h and 8.44 h).With the increase of age,the average daily sleep duration showed a decreasing trend.The percentage of insufficient sleep among children aged 6-17 years in 2010-2012 was 69.8%,and the rate of the children in urban area was slightly lower than that of rural areas(69.2% and 70.3%),no difference was found in gender(69.7% for boys,69.8% for girls).Rate of insufficient sleep was decreasing with age.Conclusion Chinese children and adolescents aged 6-17 years old were lack of sleep.More attention should be paid to build a supportive environment to ensure the sufficient sleep,promoting physical and mental health of children and adolescents in China.