School characteristics, child work, and other daily activities as sleep deficit predictors in adolescents from households with unsatisfied basic needs

Abstract: Sleep in adolescents has been shown to be an important factor when looking at physical, mental and social well-being. Little evidence is found regarding sleep patterns in adolescents from households facing extreme poverty, where conditions like crowding, poor housing, sanitation or education, and precarious employment set an adverse environment for sleep. In this study we sought to assess in a Argentine, nation-wide sample comprising 1682 adolescents, how the presence of extreme poverty - as defined by the presence of unsatisfied basic needs (UBN) - affects the relationship between sleep duration and school, work and other daily activities. A global high prevalence of short sleeping time, a slight increase of sleep time in adolescents with UBN, and different patterns of wake activities that predict sleep deficit, depending on the presence of UBN, were found. The poor academic achievement, increased risk of accidents and adverse health outcomes associated with sleep deprivation, support the view that sleep is an additional unsatisfied basic need that worsens living conditions at this age. The results may help to design public health policies that contribute to ameliorate this adverse situatio