Sleep Quality Among University Students: Evaluating the Impact of Smoking, Social Media Use, and Energy Drink Consumption on Sleep Quality and Anxiety

By Omar Afandi Et. Al.
2013, Vol. 5 No. 06 | pg. 2/3 |

Materials and Methods

A cross sectional survey was done among 290 university students of different majors in American University of Sharjah and Gulf Medical University, Ajman in the UAE from September 2011 to March 2012

Data was collected using a standardized, pre-tested questionnaire.Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI is a reliable instrument to quantify sleep quality during the previous month. It consists of 19 self-rated questions and five questions related by the bed partner or roommate (if one is available).

Only self-rated questions are included in the scoring. The 19 self-rated items are combined to form seven “component” scores, each of which has a range of 0-3 points. In all cases “0” indicates no difficulty, while a score of “3” indicates severe difficulty.

The sum of scores for these seven component yields one global score, with a range of 0-21 points, “0” indicating no difficulty and “21” indicating severe difficulties in all areas.

The seven components of the PSQI are standardized versions of areas routinely assessed in clinical interviews of patients with sleep/wake complaints.

These components are: Subjective sleep qualities, Sleep onset latency, Sleep duration, Habitual sleep efficiency, Sleep disturbances, Use of sleeping medication, Daytime dysfunction.

The questionnaire included demographic characteristics which include age, gender, weight and height, study major. Subjects were asked to estimate their weight and height to determine their body mass index (BMI). Questions about smoking, stimulant drink, exercise, and social networking too were asked. Questions were also asked on the consequences of sleep deprivation such as missing morning classes due to oversleep, having a car 'near' accident due to not sleeping well, and feeling anxious due to not sleeping well.

Data was collected after the approval from the Research Ethics Committee of the GulfMedicalUniversity.Verbal consent was taken from the students before filling up the questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the SPSS-19. 'Chi- square' test was done to examine differences between categorized variables and ‘t- test' was done to compare the mean scores.

Results

The study subjects comprised 298 participants of whom 64% were females, 36% males. The ages ranged from seventeen to twenty nine years.

Table 1. Sleep Quality among different universities, age groups, and gender

 

Good sleep

Bad sleep

Total

 

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

p value

UNIVERSITY

GMU

38.0

31.1

84.0

68.9

122.0

100.0

0.350

AUS

57.0

33.9

111.0

66.1

168.0

100.0

Total

95.0

32.8

195.0

67.2

290.0

100.0

GENDER

Male

36.0

34.3

69.0

65.7

105.0

100.0

0.380

Female

59.0

31.9

126.0

68.1

185.0

100.0

Total

95.0

32.8

195.0

67.2

290.0

100.0

AGE

19 and younger

26.0

33.8

51.0

66.2

77.0

100.0

 

20-23

48.0

28.7

119.0

71.3

167.0

100.0

0.090

24 and older

21.0

45.7

25.0

54.3

46.0

100.0

Total

95.0

32.8

195.0

67.2

290.0

100.0

Table 1 shows that there is no significantdifference between males and femalesin their Sleep Quality. Nevertheless, both the genders had many individuals with sleeping problems. Studentsabove 24 years of age seem to have the least sleeping disturbances. More people within the 20-23 age groups suffer from sleep disturbances than in the other age groups, while it is almost equal between the two genders among teenagers.

Table 2. Sleep quality in the study subjects

Sleep Quality

Frequency

Percent

Good sleep

95

32.8

Bad sleep

195

67.2

Total

290

100.0

Overall the sleep quality for the entire group was bad, as seen in Table 2

Table 3. Sleep Quality among smokers and duration of social networking

 

Good Sleep Quality

Bad Sleep Quality

P Value

 

%

No.

%

No

 

SMOKING

N=289

Yes

15

25.4

74.6

79

0.192

No

44

34.3

65.7

151

Total

94

32.5

67.5

195

SOCIAL NETWORKING

N=290

None

7

50.0

50.0

7

0.242

<30 minutes

25

30.1

69.9

58

1-2 hours

28

28.0

72.0

72

>2 hours

35

37.6

62.4

58

Total

95

32.8

67.2

195

STIMULANT DRINKING

N=288

Yes

46

28.6

71.4

47

0.128

No

115

37.0

63.0

80

Total

93

32.3

67.7

195

Although there wasa higher percentage of smokers having sleeping disturbances when compared to non-smokers, the results were not significant.

There is a noticeable increase in the percentage of users of social networking sites and energy drink users having sleep disturbances. However the result is not statistically significant.

Table 4. Sleep Quality among students with classes missed, sleeping during classes, car accidents, feeling anxious

 

Good Sleep Quality

Bad Sleep Quality

P value

 

No.

%

No.

%

 

Classes Missed

N=286

0.014

None

58

61.7

80

41.7

1-2

15

16.0

55

28.6

3-5

10

10.6

26

13.5

>5

11

11.7

31

16.1

Total

94

100

192

100

Classes Slept in

N=286

0.017

Yes

27

29.0

84

43.8

No

66

71.0

108

56.3

Total

93

100

192

100

Car Accidents

N=283

0.079

Yes

10

10.8

36

16.3

No

83

89.2

154

81.1

Total

93

100

190

100

Feeling Anxious

N=284

0.001

Yes

32

34.8

121

63.0

No

60

65.2

71

37.0

Total

92

100

192

100

Table 4 shows thatmost of the students who never missed any morning classes, or never slept during classes have significantly good sleep quality.

A significant proportion of students who have had bad sleep quality felt anxious during the day(Chi square test p=0.001).

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