Insights from IISSAAR project: the interference of digital media use with sleep and quality of life during childhood

Purpose: Digital media use has been increased worldwide in the last decades with interesting opportunities of technological development. However, some concerns have been also grown up especially among children due to excessive exposure to digital environments. The current analysis aims to assess sleep changes among children who are exposed to digital media. Preserving sleep during childhood is indeed an essential outcome of quality of life in this age range. Methods: The International iPreschooler Surveillance Study Among Asians and otheRs (IISSAAR) is a survey-based, cross-sectional, international study. The digital media use was investigated with the parent reported SMALLQ (Surveillance of digital Media hAbits in earLy chiLdhood Questionnaire). A regions-limited sample was recruited in Italy (N = 301, F = 143). The survey included sociodemographic information (income and educational level); questions about sleep parameters (duration and quality) during weekdays and weekends; quality of life before COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Sleep duration was significantly (p\0.001, d = 0.52) lower during weekdays (9 ± 1 h) compared with weekend (9.6 ± 1.3 h). The parents’ income significantly influenced sleep duration (p\0.001). Post-hoc comparisons confirmed significant a lower sleep duration for low-income compared to the other incomes’ ranges (p\0.05) during weekdays and weekend. The education level of parents influenced sleep duration during weekdays only (p\0.01). Children had a lower (p\0.05) sleep duration when parents demonstrated a no formal or primary education compared to parents with a secondary and tertiary education. Quality of life survey showed only a difference between children 2–4 years (85.7 ± 12.5 pt.) compared to children 5–6 years (81.9 ± 14 pt.) for physical functioning scale (p = 0.014, d = 0.29). Conclusions: Digital behaviour during childhood significantly impairs sleep habits. Although guidelines concerning sleep duration in preschoolers are currently available, the results of the ISSAAR project further support the recommended hours of sleep per day in this age range, highlighting the crucial role of parental engagement in fostering their children’s quality of life.