The longitudinal association of young children's everyday routines to sleep duration.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Everyday routines promote children's health. In the present study, we examined whether children's participation in everyday routines at ages 4 and 6 years predicted their sleep duration at age 6 years. METHOD: A secondary analysis of data was performed for 177 families who participated in the Rochester Preschool Children Injuries Study. Mothers were interviewed when their children were ages 4 and 6 years and reported on their children's everyday routines and perceived sleep duration. Relationships were examined by multiple hierarchical regression analysis. RESULTS: It was found that children who participated in more frequent routines at age 4 years were more likely to do so at age 6 years. Children's inadequate sleep duration at age 6 years was predicted by less frequent routines at age 6 years and by inadequate sleep duration at age 4 years after controlling for mothers' ethnicity, mothers' education, and family structure. An indirect relationship of routines at age 4 years to sleep at age 6 years through routines at age 6 years was found. DISCUSSION: Continuous engagement in everyday routines seems to play an important role in children's sleep acquisition.