Abstract
The increasing prevalence of sleep disorders among university students should be taken seriously. Group counseling involving a mindfulness-based strategy may help prevent students from developing insomnia and subsequent mental health disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the ameliorating effects of a mindfulness-based group intervention on sleep problems and emotional symptoms in university students in China. Twenty-one university students (16 females, 22.71 ± 4.28 years) who were not on medication were recruited and assigned to the intervention group based on the criterion of high levels of sleep problems. Additionally, twenty-four university students (19 females, 24.50 ± 0.93 years) were included as a nonrandomized control group. Individuals in the intervention group participated in a two-hour group intervention once a week for eight sessions. All participants completed self-reported questionnaire baseline tests, postintervention tests, and one-month follow-ups on mindfulness, sleep quality, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed. The results revealed significant intervention effects, with significant differences observed between the two groups in mindfulness and sleep quality. However, there was no significant effect of the intervention on anxiety and depressive symptoms. This study contributes to a better understanding of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention in addressing sleep problems in university students.
Highlights
Sleeping problems may cause university students to suffer from daytime dysfunctions, such as poor academic performance [3], and even behavioral problems such as substance abuse [4]
The findings demonstrated that an eight-week group-based Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) improved sleep quality and enhanced mindfulness in university students but had no significant effect on reducing their anxiety and depressive symptoms
From the subscales of the PSQI, we learned that the intervention in the current study had a more significant effect on improving sleep in aspects of daytime dysfunction and overall sleep status than in the other aspects, which is consistent with several studies that showed the MBI was ineffective for sleep latency or sleep efficiency [4]
Summary
University students are a high-risk population for developing sleeping problems, mainly because they have to cope with multiple stressors, including leaving home, increased independence, new peer groups, and changes in social situations [1]. Poor chronic sleep contributes to insomnia, which impacts the future health and functioning of youths [2]. Sleeping problems may cause university students to suffer from daytime dysfunctions, such as poor academic performance [3], and even behavioral problems such as substance abuse [4]. It is common for university students with insomnia to suffer from mental health issues, such as chronic fatigue, anxiety, stress, and even depression [5]. There is a need to find an effective way of improving students’ sleep
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