Peer-reviewed article
Association between subjective sleepiness and vigilant attention in elementary school students.
Zhu Q, Wada H, Ueda Y, Onuki K, Miyakawa M et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how daytime sleepiness affects the ability of elementary school children to maintain attention and focus. Researchers tested 1,955 students aged 6-12 in Tokyo using a sleepiness scale and a brief attention test. The relationship between sleepiness and attention performance was different depending on the child's grade level, suggesting that age matters when assessing how sleep affects children's cognitive abilities.
Key points
- 1,955 elementary school students (aged 6-12 years, 52% boys) participated in the cross-sectional study
- Sleepiness was measured using both self-reported Karolinska Sleepiness Scale and parent-reported questionnaires
- Vigilant attention was tested using the 3-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Test measuring reaction speed and lapses
- Significant interactions between sleepiness and grade level were found for both response speed and attention lapses
- The association between sleepiness and attention performance varies by age, indicating developmental differences
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study so it cannot establish causation between sleepiness and attention problems, only associations. The study is limited to elementary school children in Tokyo, Japan, so findings may not generalize to other ages, regions, or countries.
Abstract
Objectives Daytime sleepiness in children is a significant public health concern. This study aimed to examine the association between subjective sleepiness and vigilant attention in elementary school students, as well as the interaction effects of grade and sleepiness on this association. Methods We enrolled 2789 students from six elementary schools in Tokyo, Japan. Sleepiness was assessed using the self-reported Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and a parent-reported questionnaire. Vigilant attention was measured with the 3-minute brief Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B). Generalized linear models were used to examine the associations between sleepiness and PVT-B performance metrics, including response speed (mean reciprocal reaction time, 1/s) and lapse500 (number of reaction time ≥500 ms), as well as the interaction effects between sleepiness and grade. Results This cross-sectional study included 1955 elementary school students (aged 6-12 years; 52% boys). Significant interactions between KSS and grade were observed for response speed (B = -0.0032, FDR-adjusted q < 0.05) and lapse500 (B = 0.0096, FDR-adjusted q < 0.01). Similarly, significant interactions between parent-reported sleepiness ("falling asleep during an activity") and grade were found for lapse500 (B = 0.0347, FDR-adjusted q < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings indicate that the association between sleepiness and vigilant attention among children varies by age, emphasizing the importance of considering developmental differences when evaluating sleep health in pediatric populations.