FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SLEEP QUALITY AND DURATION AMONG BEIRUT ARAB UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Sleep is part of the everyday physiological rhythm that is vital for enhancing wellness and appropriate body functions. University students are vulnerable to sleep disturbance due to many factors that affect their sleep–wake behavior. No study has so far evaluated the association between sleep quality and duration and the health and nutritional status of Lebanese college students. Thus, the present study was designed to evaluate the sleep quality and duration of Beirut Arab University (BAU) students in North Lebanon and to examine associations with their nutritional status, sociodemographic, eating behaviors, lifestyles and health characteristics. To do so, a cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 288 students (168 males and 120 females) aged between 17 and 25 years who were registered in the Fall of 2018–2019 in Tripoli Campus, and randomly selected from the different faculties. Students completed a multi-component questionnaire. According to this study, more than half of BAU students had poor sleep quality (64.2%) and short sleep duration (71.5%). The multiple regression analysis revealed that employed students were 82% less likely to have poor sleep quality (ORadj: 0.181; 95% CI: 0.062–0.528) (P