Sleep Patterns, Insomnia, and Well-Being Among Female High School Students: A Population-Based Study

Background and Objective The role of insomnia in the well-being of school children has not been sufficiently examined in the literature. We aimed to explore the prevalence of clinical insomnia and its relationship to the health-related quality of life among female high-school students. Methods In a cross-sectional study in 2018, 300 students from five female high-schools in the Kurdistan Region were randomly included, regardless of age and other socio-demographic characteristics. The Personal Wellbeing Index, General Health Questionnaire–12, and Insomnia Severity Index were used to measure the personal and general well-being, and insomnia of school children, respectively. Results The students were categorized into short sleepers (2.0%), normal sleepers (51.0%), and long sleepers (47.0%), and age range is 14–19 years (mean: 16.22 years). The mean value of general well-being and insomnia severity was 6.89 and 11.42, respectively. We found that 25.0% of the students had no clinically significant insomnia, 47.7% had subthreshold insomnia, 24.0% had clinically moderate insomnia, and 3.3% had clinically severe insomnia. The mean value of the personal well-being of students was 7.91 out of 10. The mean value of personal well-being was significantly lower among students with more severe insomnia. The mean values of personal well-being were 8.61 (no clinically significant insomnia), 7.87 (subthreshold insomnia), 7.49 (clinically moderate insomnia), and 6.91 (clinically severe insomnia). The worse sleep situations and smoking were the main independent controlling factors for lower personal well-being. Conclusions The study documented that female students are at risk of being clinical insomniacs, and are at risk of the development of lower well-being