367 A sleep hygiene and relaxation training program after the Great East Japan Earthquake: What aspects of sleep could be improved?

Abstract

Abstract Introduction After a natural disaster, the incidence of sleep difficulties tends to increase. Specifically, the prevalence of suspected insomnia was reported to have increased among disaster victims after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. In a previous study, we have reported that education on sleep hygiene and relaxation training was effective in improving nighttime sleep in students of universities in Sendai city after the earthquake of March 2011. According to analyses of subscale scores of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the present study aimed to determine what aspects of sleep difficulties were successfully improved. Methods University undergraduates and graduates who reported having sleep difficulties were asked to respond to a questionnaire including the PSQI thrice, before attending a 90-min lecture on sleep hygiene and relaxation training, and a month and three months after attending the program. All participants who reported the total PSQI score of the cutoff point (6) or more were divided into two groups based on their PSQI scores before the program, that attending the course and that not attending it, that is, the “waiting list” group. Results The “attending” group exhibited a decrease in the total PSQI score in the first month after attending the program, and the score in this group reduced further three months later; Nine of twenty (45.0%) attending participants reported the score of less than 6 after a month, while only three of seventeen (17.6%) wait-list participants did. The PSQI subscale scores reported by the nine successful attending participants indicated a significant decrease in the subscale scores on subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep disturbance from before the program to one month later. Conclusion These results suggest that the short course on sleep hygiene and relaxation training intended for university students was effective, and about a half of the attended participants reported the PSQI score of less than the PSQI cutoff score one month later. This substantial effect would be mainly based on the improvement of their subjective sleep quality, latency, duration, and disturbance. Support (if any) This study was supported by a research grant from the Japanese Psychological Association, Tokyo, Japan.