Elsevier

Sleep Health

Volume 2, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 159-166
Sleep Health

The indirect effects of sleep hygiene and environmental factors on depressive symptoms in college students

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2016.01.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

Because of the interrelation of sleep disturbance and depression in college students, sleeping environments and sleep hygiene practices have emerged as potential avenues for intervention. To understand associations between predictors of sleep (environmental noise disturbances, pre-bedtime media use, sleep hygiene), poor sleep quality, and depressive symptoms, this study examined poor sleep quality as a potential mediator between these predictors and depressive symptoms.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Residential colleges/universities.

Participants

The sample was collected during the spring of 2015 and was comprised of 335 college students (mean age = 19.9 years, SD = 1.9), including both students living with roommates and students living alone.

Measurement

A multiple-group path analysis was conducted based on self-report and online questionnaires.

Results

Environmental noise disturbances and emotionally -related sleep hygiene practices were indirectly associated with higher depressive symptoms across students living either with or without roommates. Furthermore, students living alone evidenced an indirect association between cognitively-related sleep hygiene practices and depressive symptoms, whereas students living with roommates evidenced indirect associations between both physiologically and environmentally-related sleep hygiene practices and depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Sleep hygiene and environmental factors may be potential avenues for preventing depressive symptoms in college students.

Section snippets

Sleep environment

Fundamental to college students’ sleep are both their sleep environment and their sleep hygiene practices. The sleep environment is typically defined by the physical space and related aspects of the context in which sleep occurs (eg, noise, temperature). One aspect of the sleep environment that is often overlooked is the presence of a roommate. According to the American Council on Education, approximately 20% of college students live in residence halls, and research suggests that students

Sleep problems and depressive symptoms

Extensive research supports clear associations between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms in college-aged students.6, 22 For example, decreased sleep has been found to be associated with increased depressive symptoms.23 In addition, students who reported both high levels of sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms endorsed higher levels of anxiety and poorer cognitive and physical functioning.6 Students with elevated depressive symptoms have also reported greater levels of fatigue

The current study

The current study sought to examine the associations between predictors of poor sleep quality (ie, sleep environment, sleep hygiene practices, pre-bedtime media use), sleep quality, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 335 college students. We posited that poor sleep quality might serve as a more general mechanism to explain associations between an array of environmental factors (ie, environmental noise, screen time) and sleep hygiene behaviors and their predictive links to depressive

Participants

The mean age of the current sample (n = 335, 77% female) was 19.9 years (SD = 1.9), and the majority of participants were white (66%), with 20% Asian or Pacific Islander, 6% multiracial, 5% Latino, 2% African American, and 1% Native American. Participants were predominately first- and second-year students, 34% and 30%, respectively, with 21% reporting as juniors, 14% seniors, and 1% in their fifth year or beyond. Finally, 23% of participants reported living off-campus, and 50% reported having

Group differences and bivariate associations

Overall, the reported levels of depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality are consistent with past studies on college populations.2, 35 Table 1 presents comparison of means as a function of residential status (ie, living alone or with a roommate). Although respondents who lived with a roommate reported significantly higher levels of environmental noise (d = .21) and poorer physiological sleep hygiene (d = − .32), these differences were modest in size, and the 2 groups were generally comparable

Discussion

Although direct associations between poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms have been well-documented,6 the current study was one of the first to examine the direct and indirect associations that the sleep environment and sleep hygiene practices might have on the association between college students’ depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance. The findings suggested that several environmental and sleep hygiene factors were associated with college students’ poor sleep quality, which were, in

Limitations

Several limitations in the current study must be acknowledged. First, the cross-sectional results preclude any examination of their directionality. Future studies should examine these associations longitudinally to better ascertain the direction of effects. Second, all measures are self-report, increasing the potential for response bias. Future studies should augment self-report surveys with additional methods (ie, daily diaries, actigraphy) to more thoroughly test the presented model. Third,

Conclusion

The current study provides an important first step toward improving college students’ mental health by examining their sleep hygiene practices as well as environmental disturbances to their sleep. Although sleep hygiene-related interventions have been tailored to college populations,12 such interventions are not widespread. Future research on sleep-related interventions for college students remains an area for growth and provides important opportunities to study the role that sleep plays in

Disclosure

Dr. Peltz has nothing to disclose.

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