Sleep Quality and Negative Associated Behaviors

of College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Item Type article

Authors Stenzel, Jordan S.

Download date 01/06/2022 05:41:53

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/3464

Sleep Quality and Negative Associated Behaviors of College Students:

A Cross-Sectional Study

Jordan S Stenzel A.S. B.S.; Michael J Ray M.P.H, M.S., CHES

The College at Brockport

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Abstract. Objective: The purpose of this study was to ascertain what negative behaviors college

students are engaging in that could be causing them to have poor sleep. Participants: A total of

134 students completed the online surveys. Methods: An online sleep survey was e-mailed to

health science department students at the College at Brockport. Survey questions included

demographics, sleep patterns, living situation, and asked them to self-report their negative sleep

behaviors. Results: Most students reported to live near campus in off campus housing. Students

claimed to average 8-9 hours of sleep each weekday and weekend night. Of the top negative self-

reported behaviors students submitted 23 students claimed their sleep loss was due to school

work and studying. 18 students claimed poor sleep due to mental issues like stress and

depression and 16 students claimed drugs, alcohol, and caffeine related stimulants lead to their

poor sleep. Lastly 14 students reported going out with friends or partying lead to their poor sleep

quality. The 64 other collected student surveys had a mix of answers that did not lend themselves

to a particular larger theme or category. Conclusions: There are many college students that

suffer from poor sleep quality overall. This study attempted to shed light on what may be causing

these students poor sleep in general. College administrators and school related faculty could use

these results in forming prevention strategies to help college students improve their sleep. This

better quality of sleep could help improve overall academic performance.

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In the United States, sleep has been shown to be a problem within the realm of public

health. Sleep is an essential part of life for several reasons. When we sleep the brain regains

energy and is able to boost the human immune system to deal with illness and fatigue. Proper

sleep also allows individuals think more clearly and objectively. Sleep is also important for

memory, and performance growth (University Health Center, 2013). Individuals who get quality

uninterrupted sleep are typically more positive during the day. That is why the issue of poor

sleep quality is very important to study.

One group of individuals which has been identified with trouble sleeping is college

students. Over the last few decades there has been increased research into the importance of a

good night’s sleep and its relation to academic performance. According to Clete A. Kushida,

MD, PhD, director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research and a member

of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) board of directors, “There are data that

sleep loss leads to learning and memory impairment, as well as decreased attention and

vigilance” (College students, 2007, para. 4.). Another physician-scientist Lawrence Epstein, MD,

the medical director of Sleep Health Centers in Brighton, Mass., says “that sleep deprivation

effects not only whether a student can stay awake in class but how they perform as well”

(College students, 2007, para. 4.). In addition, Lawrence Epstein, MD, the medical director of

Sleep Health Centers in Brighton, Mass., said “that sleep deprivation effects not only whether a

student can stay awake in class but how they perform as well” (College students, 2007, para. 2).

Throughout the typical college experience students deal with an array of complex

academic, social, and personal daily situations which shape them into who they will become. It is

these daily experiences that may also be having an impact on their individual sleeping patterns.
 Sleep Quality 4

Therefore research into the area of sleep quality is necessary because sleep is important to active

learning in the college environment.

One example of research into poor sleep quality was conducted by Forquer, Camden,

Gabriau, and Johnson at the Department of Psychology at Central Michigan University in Mount

Pleasant. Their study examined college students’ sleep patterns at a public university to identify

problem such as sleep patterns, problems, and possible influencing factors. The investigators

found that of 313 students surveyed, more than 33% of the students took longer than 30 minutes

to fall asleep, 43% woke more than once nightly, and more than 33% reported being tired during

the day. The researchers found no differences between undergraduate students and the graduate

students (Forquer et al, 2008). The study concluded that many college students have problems

that can negatively impact academic performance and driving abilities.

Another sleep study conducted by Buboltz, Brown, and Soper (2001) of the Counseling

Psychology Department at Louisiana Tech University used a quantitative based approach to find

indications of students’ sleep problems. The researchers did this to help address deficiencies in

the literature. In the study a sample of 191 undergraduates at a rural southern university found

that most of the students exhibited some form of sleep disturbance. Women, in general, reported

more sleep disturbances than men did. In the end the researchers concluded that universities and

college authorities should look into sleep habits of college students to reduce the effects of sleep

issues on overall academic performance.

The study conducted by Gilbert and Weaver (2010) looked into sleep quality and its

relation to academic performance in college undergraduates. The study examined the relationship

between sleep deprivation, sleep, quality, and academic performance. The results found a

significant negative correlation between global sleep quality (GSQ) on the Pittsburgh Sleep
 Sleep Quality 5

Quality Index and grade point average (GPA). This finding supported the researchers’ initial

hypothesis that poor sleep quality is associated with lower academic performance for non-

depressed students. However, one of the limitations of their study was that they could not

determine the underlying cause of the poor sleep quality, and the resultant lower grade point

average. Gilbert and Weaver (2010) suggested, “Because this was correlational research, we

cannot infer directionality of effect (i.e., that poor sleep quality caused lower grade point

average). It is possible that students with academic difficulties engage in other behaviors that in

turn cause poor sleep (e.g., substance abuse)” (p.303).

It is the Gilbert and Weaver study limitations and the lack of behavioral information that

gave cause for further investigation. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature by

asking: What specific behaviors the college undergraduates engage in that affect their sleep

quality? It is hoped that the current study will allow for characterization of the behaviors

themselves along with evaluation of the impact of individual and synergistic combinations of

behaviors. This valuable information may provide insight into key factors behind the poor sleep

epidemic.

Methods

Participants

Both undergraduate and graduate students who are majoring in a field from Health

Science department the College at Brockport State University of New York were invited through

email to participate in this institutional review board (IRB) approved survey. Invitations were

sent to approximately 700 students in the Health Science department at the College at Brockport.
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Measures

To examine and determine the other specific behaviors causing poor sleep quality we

conducted an online survey generated through surveymonkey.com. The survey asked basic

demographic questions about gender, age, year of schooling and the students’ current housing

situation. The survey also asked about sleep duration (how many hours a day/night they sleep)

and variability (if they sleep more or less on a weekday or a weekend). The final two survey

questions asked the participant to list in rank order of importance their own negative and positive

sleep behaviors that they believe affects their sleep quality.

Procedure

The link to the survey was included in an e-mail below a recruitment script that explained

the purpose of the study. The e-mail was sent to all Health Science students at the College at

Brockport who have current school addresses and student ANGEL online network e-mail

accounts. All of the information was confidential. The students clicked the survey link to

acknowledge their agreement to participate, then clicked through the informed consent statement

page to participate in the study and complete the survey. All completed surveys where submitted

to our password protected, limited access survey-monkey account where the data was collected.

Upon close of the data collection window, a dataset consisting of anonymous question responses

was exported and stored in a password-protected account and all data on the Survey-

Monkey.com site was cleared.

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Results

We sent out 700 requests for participation by the Health Science students and 134

participants completed the survey. In the sample of participating students 118 were female, 16

were male. Mean age of the participants was 21 years (approximately 90% could be considered

“traditional” college age students). The demographics of participants were representative of

students in the Brockport Health Science department: 40% were in their third year of college, the

highest at 45% reported living off campus in a housing residence near by campus, and 27%

reported living on campus in a dorm or on campus apartment. The rest lived off campus with

parents or by themselves not near the college campus. When asked to estimate the total number

of hours the student sleep each weekday and weekend, participants averaged around the same at

8-9 hours total each night. When asked if they sleep around the same time each weekday, 67%

said yes around the same time each weekday. The students were also asked if they go to sleep

around the same time on both weekdays and weekends; 77% reported that they went to sleep

(and woke) later during the weekend.

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Top Student Reported Negative Behavior

Frequencies

School Work/Studying

Mental Issues related to Stress, Anxiety, and

Depression

Drugs, Alcohol, and Caffeine stimulants

Going out with friends or Partying

0 5 10 15 20 25

Figure 1. Top 4 categories of negative behaviors that affect sleep.

Comments

The majority of college students that answered the survey reported that they go to sleep

later during the weekends. Almost half also reported living in off campus housing that was near

by the college. This suggests that there is a possible association between where the students

reside with the lifestyle and behavioral choices that they make. That this population is near

campus both during and after school offers the possibility for general health promotion

programming by campus life offices that specifically targets improving sleep quality (such as

time management skills when studying or the importance of maintaining sleep routines

throughout weekdays and weekends).

The different negative behaviors that were reported also suggest possible targets for

tailored health programming. For example, time management skills might benefit those who

reported negative school-work/study and relaxation skills might benefit those who reported

mental health stress-anxiety negative behavior. The drug and alcohol behavior group may be
 Sleep Quality 9

associated with the going out and partying behavior group. Both of these might benefit from

increased alternatives within student life programing.

Another interesting find was that participants reported a close range in total hours of

sleep for both weekdays and weekends (means of 8-9 hours). So, even when stressed over life,

homework, school, or going out and drinking, participants are seemingly getting an adequate

quantity of sleep hours, but the quality of these hours is in question. Given that there were few

commonalities among the reported positive behaviors, there seems to be a need to teach students

awareness and management skills to improve their quality of sleep.

There are some limitations in this study that should be noted. First, the 134 responses of

the survey consisted only of students from the Health Science department at the College at

Brockport. This issue could cause bias to the results of the study if students in the Health Science

Department have a greater level of information on the subject of poor sleep hygiene. If so, this

would mean that these results are probably conservative and the level of negative behaviors

among the general college population may be worse. There may also be other negative behaviors

that have yet to be identified among other groups on campus.

Secondly, the main question in the survey asked the student to self-report what they

believe is the negative behavior impacting their quality of sleep. These responses may be

affected by the participants’ current social, personal, or cultural situations. In addition, the

geographic location of this college in a Western New York suburban area may not allow for

generalizing to other college students across the United States.

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Recommendations

Based on the high frequencies of stress/school work, mental issues, drugs/alcohol, and

partying found and the negative reported behaviors, it is not surprising that students at the

College at Brockport also report suffering from some form of poor sleep quality. Poor sleep

quality is an issue that has seen several studies yet relatively little preventive actions. Action on

this issue must be taken in order to achieve a positive impact on the college student population at

large. At the College at Brockport, stress and anxiety along with time requirements for studying

and assignments appear to play a role in a majority of the poor sleep quality cases that students

are facing. Perhaps more large-scale studies looking at potential interventions toward the

reported negative behaviors will prompt improvement in students’ overall quality of sleep.

Faculty and administrative leadership of colleges and universities across the country need greater

awareness of how important sleep is. Students’ outside lives are complicated, with pressures

from peers and jobs competing with long assignments, presentations and test preparation. More

emphasis on time management skills training seems like a novel target for health promotion

programming to indirectly improve sleep quality among college students.

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References

University health center sleep. (2013, April 16). Retrieved from https://www.uhs.uga.edu/

sleep/index.html

College students: Getting enough sleep is vital to academic success. (2007, November 30).

Retrieved from http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=659

Buboltz Jr, W. C., Brown, F., & Soper, B. (2001). Sleep Habits and Patterns of College

Students: A Preliminary Study. Journal Of American College Health, 50(3), 131.

Forquer, L. M., Camden, A. E., Gabriau, K. M., & Johnson, C. (2008). Sleep Patterns of College

Students at a Public University. Journal Of American College Health, 56(5), 563-565.

Vail-Smith, K., Felts, W., & Becker, C. (2009). Relationship between sleep quality and health

risk behaviors in undergraduate college students. College Student Journal, 43(3), 924-

930.

Gilbert, S., Weaver C. (2010). Sleep quality and academic performance in university students: A

wake-up call for college psychologists. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 24(4),

295-306. Retrieved from http://psychdweeb.weebly.com/uploads/3/5/2/0/350924/

sleep_and_academics.pdf