Improving Sleep in a Student Population

Abstract

College students commonly report sleep difficulties, and poor sleep among students is correlated with impaired academic performance, emotional wellbeing, and health functioning. Among the most effective interventions aimed at improving sleep quality are ones that use psychoeducational presentations. This study examined the changes in sleep quality among college students using a modified educational sleep presentation. In addition, this study examined components of sleep hygiene and stimulus control practices students found the most difficult to implement. Assessments compared an assortment of self-report measures that assessed sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, trait moringnness, attitudes toward sleep, barriers to good sleep, exercise, and food habits, at baseline, two and four weeks post intervention. Sleep quality in the sleep intervention group was not found to be significantly different than overall sleep quality in the control condition (F(32) = .472, p = .53). Although previous studies have found that educational interventions can improve college students’ sleep quality, the present investigation failed to find support for that finding.