EFFECTS OF LIFESTYLES IN ELEMENTARY AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT WARRANT CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION

Abstract

Background: The lifestyles of elementary and junior high school students and their effects on mental and physical
health are issues garnering attention in countries around the world, including Japan. The focus on lifestyles covers a broad
range of topics.
Objective: With this in mind, we summarize the results to a lifestyle survey of their students.
Materials and Methods: We administered to the responses elementary and junior high school students (6th–9th graders
in Izumo, Japan; n=714) in 2018. The survey asked about being in a good mood when waking, the time that the student
woke up, the time that the student went to bed, the hours of TV watched per day, the hours of games played per day, the
hours of smartphone use per day, the hours of PC or tablet PC use per day, how often the student turned off the TV during
meals, and the number of times the student ate breakfast per week. The responses were compiled, and our analyses
revealed the following.
Results: The 9th graders woke up significantly later than the other students. The junior high school students of all
grades went to bed significantly later. Seventh graders watched significantly fewer hours of TV per day than 6th graders but
used a smartphone for significantly more hours per day; the 7th graders also ate breakfast significantly fewer times per
week.
Conclusions: Especially, attention must be focused on the duration of sleep so that students do not start going to bed
later in junior high school. In addition, relevant personnel need to devise and improve education regarding these actions for
students of all grades.