IntroductionSome adolescents may have sleep disorder at some point during adolescence. Determining the pattern and practice of sleep among adolescents could be useful to establish a lasting sleep hygiene program among adolescents. The objectives of this study are to describe sleep pattern and practice among adolescent in Nigerian secondary schools.MethodsSleep habits were investigated using a random sampling of adolescents from secondary schools from February to April 2013. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV criteria. Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used.ResultsA total of 443 subjects, comprising 263 (59.4%) females and 180 (40.6%) males completed the questionnaire. The mean duration of night sleep of the subjects during weekday was 7.84 (1.9) hours and 8.65 (2.07) hours during the weekend. 22.8% (101/443) had abnormal sleep onset latency (< 5 minutes and > 30 minutes). The gender of the subjects did not influence the sleep onset latency (χ2 = 32.89, p= 0.57). Twenty six (5.9%)of the subjects reported difficulty falling asleep.ConclusionAdolescents have varying degrees of sleeping practice and hygiene.

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AbstractObjectiveOur study sought to assesses the knowledge and awareness of individual sickle cell genotype among adolescents.MethodsParticipants were recruited from a large school in Southeast Nigeria where adult prevalence of sickle cell trait is 25%. Data was collected through a 50-item survey with previously pretested questions that assessed awareness of individual genotype, general knowledge of sickle cell disease, perception of sickle cell trait and sickle cell anaemia (SCA). Additionally, self-reported genotype was compared to the school’s admission records to determine accuracy of self-reported genotype. The knowledge scores were summed on a binary basis with one point assigned for a correct answer while zero was given for an incorrect response.ResultsFour hundred and nine (409) students were approached and enrolled in the study. A vast majority (94%) of the respondents reported being aware of their genotype and two-thirds had the awareness during school admission. However, in specific knowledge of sickle cell, majority (89.7%) of the participants miscalculated the probability of having a child with SCA in married carrier couple and 71.9% misidentified the proportion of Nigerians with sickle cell trait. Assessing level of knowledge of sickle cell, only very few of the adolescents (7.3%) were found with the expected high knowledge scores of 7–8.ConclusionAlthough a significant proportion of respondents were aware of their genotype, most were unaware of the implications of sickle cell trait and thought that people with sickle cell trait also have symptoms of sickle cell disease. Also, only a few of the respondents have the expected level of sickle cell knowledge. A focused educational intervention among this age group is crucial as they embark on making reproductive health decisions.