Sleep is fundamental for a healthy lifestyle, yet people commonly report problems regarding sleep quality. Poor sleep quality is also a frequent issue among college students. Sleep quality can be...Show moreSleep is fundamental for a healthy lifestyle, yet people commonly report problems regarding sleep quality. Poor sleep quality is also a frequent issue among college students. Sleep quality can be affected by various factors, including stress and the consumption of specific substances like caffeine. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the connections between caffeine consumption, caffeine time use, academic stress, and sleep quality. This study also investigated possible moderating roles of caffeine consumption and timing of caffeine consumption in the relationship between stress and sleep quality, as well as the evening caffeine use in the association between caffeine consumption and sleep quality. Data were gathered from 315 participants (78.4% female, mean age 20.8 years, SD = 2.52) in March 2020. Respondents completed online questionnaires, including the Law Student Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress levels, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to measure sleep quality, and self-reporting questions about caffeine, alcohol, and cannabis consumption. Multiple regression analyses with interactions were performed. A negative association between stress and sleep quality was found, indicating that more stress is related to poorer sleep quality; however, there was no association between stress and caffeine use, nor between caffeine and sleep quality. Furthermore, there was no evidence of moderation in any of the relationships. It appears that among college students, the relationship between stress and sleep quality may be influenced by other substances rather than caffeine itself. More investigation is warranted to provide clarity on the inconsistencies in the existing literature. Future research can focus on exploring the advantages of online interventions for students experiencing poor sleep quality.Show less
In the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of...Show moreIn the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of children. To enhance the optimal development of boys and girls, we examined whether gender moderates the association between sleep duration and cognitive functioning. In this study 501 children, 229 boys and 272 girls, with an average age of 10.5 years participated. Parents kept a sleep diary for their child. The child completed various computer tasks which measure cognitive functions attention, inhibition and working memory. These were respectively the PVT, the PVT Go/No-Go and Digit Span. At home, the child did four Word pair tasks to measure declarative memory. Correlation analyses showed that shorter sleep duration was significantly associated with more attention (r = .18), less inhibition (r = .11) and better working memory (r = -.19), but not with declarative memory. Gender did not moderate the relations sleep duration and cognitive functions. However, girls performed significantly better than boys on the cognitive functions inhibition and working memory. Parents, teachers, social workers and children should know that short sleep duration as well as long sleep duration is associated with declined cognitive functioning, so the development of children can be advanced. It is also important to examine the best sleep duration for children of different ages, so they can use their best attention, working memory and inhibition and they can develop optimally.Show less
The transition to adolescence is linked to behavioral and/or emotional problems, and to a change of circadian phase preference towards evening chronotype. Recent studies showed that eveningness in...Show moreThe transition to adolescence is linked to behavioral and/or emotional problems, and to a change of circadian phase preference towards evening chronotype. Recent studies showed that eveningness in adolescence is associated with behavioral and emotional problems and with shorter sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness. Studies on chronotype, sleep and behavioral/emotional problems in preadolescents are scarce. The current study examined: 1) whether there is association between chronotype and behavioral/ emotional problems in healthy 9, 10, and 11-year-old preadolescents, and 2) whether the hypothesized correlation is mediated by sleep quality, sleepiness, and/or sleep duration. Parents of 98 Dutch children aged 9 to 11 filled out the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Children’s Chronotype Questionnaire (CCTQ), Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), and a sleep diary. The hypothesized association between eveningness and behavioral and/or emotional problems was not found. However, eveningness was significantly correlated to poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Furthermore, poor sleep quality was significantly correlated to externalizing problems, and daytime sleepiness was significantly correlated to internalizing problems. To conclude, eveningness does not increase the risk of behavioral/emotional problems, but is related to poor sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness. These results suggest that evening types are particularly vulnerable to behavioral/emotional problems when they experience poor sleep quality/ daytime sleepiness. Moreover it might mean that other children, who are not considered evening types but do experience poor sleep quality/daytime sleepiness, may also be vulnerable to behavioral/emotional problems.Show less
Deze studie onderzocht het effect van drie nachten slaapbeperking ( ≥ 30 minuten) op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Gedurende drie weken werden kinderen in...Show moreDeze studie onderzocht het effect van drie nachten slaapbeperking ( ≥ 30 minuten) op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Gedurende drie weken werden kinderen in hun natuurlijke omgeving blootgesteld aan drie experimentele condities (baseline, slaapbeperking en slaapverlenging). Er werd gecounterbalanced voor volgorde van experimentele conditie en washout periodes werden ingezet om overdraagbare effecten van de condities te voorkomen. Van de geworven respondenten (N = 57) is bij 63% (19 meisjes, 13 jongens) het beperken van de slaapduur gelukt (vermindering van slaapduur van tenminste 30 minuten t.o.v. de baseline). Deze kinderen (M leeftijd = 9.87 jaar) sliepen tijdens slaapbeperking significant korter (M = 566.30 minuten, SD = 30.78) dan tijdens een normale week slaap (M = 616.37 minuten, SD = 30.06). Er werd geen effect gevonden van slaapbeperking op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Echter, kinderen beoordeelden gezichten significant sneller na slaapbeperking p < .001). Hoewel significante effecten van de moderatoren op de slaapduur, de cognitie en de emotie uitbleven, werden er duidelijke trends waargenomen. Zo onderscheidden ochtendtypes zich van gemiddelde types en avondtypes. Zij hadden een langere slaapduur,sliepen in het weekend minder en slaapbeperking leek geen invloed te hebben op hun werkgeheugen. Bovendien beoordeelden zij de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten, in tegenstelling tot de twee andere types, positiever tijdens slaapbeperking dan tijdens de baseline. Aangezien experimentele slaaponderzoeken bij kinderen schaars zijn, leveren deze resultaten een substantiële bijdrage aan de wetenschappelijke literatuur.Show less
Research has established the calming effect on maternal scent on newborn infants; however, little research has been done to investigate these olfactory responses outside this sensitive period...Show moreResearch has established the calming effect on maternal scent on newborn infants; however, little research has been done to investigate these olfactory responses outside this sensitive period following birth. Additionally, no research has investigated how scent impacts the cry and sleep behavior within the day care setting, an environment of increasing relevance for child development. In this vein, this study examined the effects of maternal scent on the cry and sleep behavior of infants within the Dutch and Chilean day care settings. During the morning nap time, the cry and sleep behavior of 26 infants between the ages 4-9 month was observed via video recording under three different conditions: Own mother scent, Other mother scent, and Neutral scent. Results indicate that infants exposed to Other mother scent cry less than those exposed to both own mother and neutral scent. Additionally, no effects were found for the amount of hours that the infants spent in day care per week. However, an exploratory analysis between the Dutch and Chilean infants revealed differences in cry behavior. Namely, Chilean infants cried less in both own mother and other mother conditions than the Dutch infants. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the continued calming effect of maternal odor, but suggest that as infants develop, they are no longer calmed by the scent of their own mother. Further investigation of such effects could prove fruitful in the development of effective sleep aids within the day care setting.Show less
Objective: The present exploratory study investigated the role of attachment, maternal scent, and quality of home environment on infant’s quality of sleep in day care. The sample consisted of three...Show moreObjective: The present exploratory study investigated the role of attachment, maternal scent, and quality of home environment on infant’s quality of sleep in day care. The sample consisted of three infants, ranging between four and seven months of age. Mothers completed questionnaires regarding general information about themselves and the usual behavior of their infants. Interaction between mother and infant was assessed through the Attachment During Stress Scale (ADS). The Infant/Toddler HOME (IT-HOME) was used to measure the quality of home environment. An experimental procedure was conducted to evaluate infants’ quality of sleep. T-shirts infused with their own maternal odor, another mother odor, and neutral odors were placed in the cribs during their morning nap. Video recordings were coded to assess the crying before sleep, total cry time, sleep duration, and caregiver intervention in each condition. The three securely attached infants involved in the study cried less before sleep and during the entire nap when exposed to the maternal odor, either from their own or other mothers, as compared with the neutral scent. However, they cried even less with the other mother odor compared with their own mother scent. In terms of sleep duration, two of the infants slept more with their own mother scent. The last baby, who showed a different pattern of sleep duration, had the lowest score on HOME. Several explanations are advanced to explain the preliminary findings and suggestions are made for future research.Show less
Het doel van dit onderzoek is om het effect van slaapduurbeperking en verlenging op het uitgeslapen gevoel, de stemming, aandacht en werkgeheugen van kinderen te analyseren. Dit is onderzocht bij...Show moreHet doel van dit onderzoek is om het effect van slaapduurbeperking en verlenging op het uitgeslapen gevoel, de stemming, aandacht en werkgeheugen van kinderen te analyseren. Dit is onderzocht bij 57 kinderen middels experimenteel onderzoek. De gemiddelde leeftijd was 9.9 jaar (M= 9.897, SD=0.795 ). Na een week baselineslaap volgden twee keer drie dagen van één uur restrictie en verlenging. Tussen de twee xperimentele fasen was er een wash-out periode van vier dagen. De testafname vond plaats na drie nachten van slaaprestrictie en nog eens na de verlenging. Om de onderzoeksvraag te beantwoorden, is gebruik gemaakt van het slaaplogboek en de subtest cijferreeksen van WISC IV®. Middels het slaaplogboek zijn stemming en uitgeslapen gevoel geanalyseerd. Ook is meegenomen of, en hoe lang, kinderen ’s nachts wakker zijn geweest. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat een verandering groter dan twee keer de ‘reliable change index’ in de slaapduurbeperkingsconditie bij 62.7% van de kinderen is gelukt. Bij de verlenging is dit bij 60.8% gelukt. Het gaat om een verandering in slaapduur van 30 minuten. Er is geen invloed gevonden voor verlenging of beperking op werkgeheugen en de aandacht. In de slaapduurbeperkingsconditie geven kinderen een lagere score aan de variabele stemming dan in de baselineconditie. Deze resultaten gelden ook voor kinderen die ’s nachts wakker worden. Slaapduurverlenging heeft geen invloed op stemming. Bij uitgeslapen gevoel worden er effecten voor slaapduurverkorting en verlenging gevonden. Korter slapen leidt tot een minder hoge score op uitgeslapen gevoel, langer slapen tot een hogere score in vergelijking met de baseline conditie. Bij kinderen die ’s nachts wakker worden is het effect van langer slapen groter dan bij de totale onderzoeksgroep.Show less
Het doel van deze studie was om de relatie te onderzoeken tussen slaapbeperking en het functioneren van het werkgeheugen bij kinderen. De onderzoeksgroep bestond uit 55 kinderen van acht tot en met...Show moreHet doel van deze studie was om de relatie te onderzoeken tussen slaapbeperking en het functioneren van het werkgeheugen bij kinderen. De onderzoeksgroep bestond uit 55 kinderen van acht tot en met elf jaar oud. Om het functioneren van het werkgeheugen te meten werd gebruik gemaakt van de test Cijferreeksen. De slaapduur is experimenteel gemanipuleerd door de kinderen gedurende drie dagen één uur eerder naar bed te laten gaan. Door middel van een logboek is de slaapduur berekend. De onderzoeksgroep is verdeeld in een groep waarbij de slaapduur met minimaal dertig minuten is beperkt (SB) en een groep waarbij de slaapduur niet voldoende is veranderd (GV). Allereerst was er geen significante relatie tussen de slaapduur en de prestatie op Cijferreeksen. Wel zorgde de kortere slaapduur voor een verminderd uitgeslapen gevoel in de SB groep. Daarnaast blijkt er een geringe samenhang in de gehele groep tussen de mate waarin de slaapbeperking is gelukt en de mate waarin de slaperigheid is toegenomen. Dit verband valt weg wanneer de groep wordt onderverdeeld in SB en GV. Geconcludeerd kan worden dat er geen aantoonbaar effect is van de kortere slaapduur op het werkgeheugen.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2015-01-01T00:00:00Z
This study explored the relation between chronotype and cognitive and behavioral problems in 333 school-aged children (mean age 9.97 years, 55% girls), with an important focus on a potential...Show moreThis study explored the relation between chronotype and cognitive and behavioral problems in 333 school-aged children (mean age 9.97 years, 55% girls), with an important focus on a potential mediating role of sleep duration and sleep quality. Participants completed short-form WISC-IIINL and several tasks on the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT), which assesses important domains of attention. Their parents filled out a sleep log and several questionnaires regarding chronotype (CCTQ), sleep habits (CSHQ), and behavioral problems (CBCL). Results showed that indeed eveningness was associated with behavioral problems. No direct associations with cognitive functioning were found. Sleep duration was not associated with cognitive-behavioral functioning. Sleep quality, specifically feeling rested in the morning during weekdays, was associated with cognitive and behavioral functioning. Several mediating relations were identified. The findings highlight that sleep quality partially mediates the relation between chronotype and cognitive-behavioral problems. Evening types show behavioral problems when they do not feel rested in the morning. These findings have significant clinical implications.Show less
