0255 Sleep Hygiene Index: Associations with Sleep and Mental Health in College Students

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Typically, college students practice unhealthy sleep hygiene behaviors, obtain too little sleep, and experience poor sleep quality. Sleep hygiene includes the routines or practices that prepare a person for the best possible night of sleep. Good sleep hygiene habits, like creating a sleep-friendly environment and making time for sleep, promote healthy duration and quality of sleep. Stress is also an important factor to consider during the college experience. Sleep and mental health are tightly connected, and stress can negatively impact the sleep and mental health of individuals. The focus of the current study was to examine habitual sleep habits in college students, in association with sleep quality and psychological health. Methods Participants included 51 undergraduate students (18 men, average age M=20.25 years, SD=1.78) who wore wrist actigraphs to measure their typical sleep habits for one week. After one week, participants completed questionnaires about sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and sleep hygiene practices (Sleep Hygiene Index, SHI). Higher scores on PSQI represent poorer quality; higher scores on SHI represent unhealthy sleep hygiene behaviors. Mental health symptoms were measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results Overall sleep duration was 6.59 hours and sleep efficiency was 82.55% as measured by actigraphy. PSQI scores (M=6.86) demonstrated poor sleep quality and SHI scores (M= 24.80) indicated overall poor sleep hygiene practices. SHI scores predicted higher PSQI scores (F(1, 50) = 18.05, p<.001), but did not predict sleep duration or efficiency. Depression, anxiety, and stress scores on the DASS predicted poorer sleep hygiene (F(1, 50) = 18.05, p<.001; F(1, 50) = 5.82, p=.020; F(1, 50) = 13.42, p<.001; respectively). Conclusion As expected, college students’ sleep was short in duration, poor in efficiency, and poor in quality. Additionally, poor sleep hygiene practices predicted poorer sleep quality. Interestingly, scores that indicated worse depression, anxiety, and stress predicted poorer sleep hygiene practices, suggesting that mental health may contribute to healthy sleep practices. More research is needed to understand the complex relationship between mental health, sleep, and healthy sleep practices Support (If Any) None.