Background
Several recent global events may have impacted adolescent sleep and exacerbated pre-existing disparities by social positions. Current understanding of sleep among adolescents is critical to inform interventions for a more equitable future, given the short and long-term consequences of inadequate sleep on health and well-being This study aimed to provide contemporary evidence on sleep disparities by key social positions among adolescents in Canada.
Methods
Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using self-reported data collected during 2020–2021 (the first full school year after the COVID-19 pandemic onset) from 52,138 students (mean age = 15.0) attending 133 Canadian secondary schools. Multiple regression models were used to test whether sleep quality (how well students slept during past week), duration (weekday, weekend, weighted daily average), and guideline adherence (8–10 h/day) differed by sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES).
Results
Females reported a mean [95% CI] difference of -1.7 [-3.7, 0.4] min/day less sleep on weekdays than males, but 7.1 [4.5, 9.6] min/day more sleep on weekends, resulting in no difference in average daily sleep between males and females. Females were less likely to report good quality sleep compared to males (AOR = 0.57 [0.54, 0.60]). SES followed a generally monotonic trend where higher scores were associated with more sleep on weekdays (Δhighest:lowest = -28.6 [-39.5, -17.6]) and weekends (Δhighest:lowest = -17.5 [-3.8, -31.2]) and greater likelihood of higher sleep quality (AORhighest:lowest = 3.04 [2.35, 3.92]). Relative to White adolescents, weekday and average daily sleep duration were lower among all other racial identities; mean differences ranged from ~ 5–15 min/day, with Black students reporting the least sleep.
Conclusions
Differences in sleep duration and quality were most profound among adolescents from the lowest and highest SES. Racial disparities were more evident on weekdays. Compensatory weekend sleep appears more pronounced in females than males. Addressing sleep inequities is critical, as a robust predictor of multiple health outcomes.