FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SLEEP QUALITY AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT A MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.32827/ijphcs.5.6.373

Background: University students often report poor sleep quality because of sleeping disturbances due to insufficient rest, early morning awakening, and difficulty falling asleep. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of sleep quality, the factors associated with sleep quality among undergraduate students in a public university.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling was used. The data were collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires from January until April 2016. Data analysis was done using Statistical Analysis Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.

Result: A total of 313 students responded and attempted the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 95.1%, of which 221 students had poor sleep quality. The prevalence of poor sleep quality among undergraduate students was 70.6%. The majority (35.5%) with poor sleep quality, were aged above 21 years and 55.3% of those experiencing poor sleep quality were female. Moreover, 52.7% of the respondents were Malay, 42.2% were health sciences students, 67.1% lived in a hostel, and 38.2% of the students who had a BMI of 21.0 and above had poor sleep quality. This study showed that sleep quality was related to excessive daytime sleepiness and the level of stress (p≤0.05).

Conclusion: Almost one-third of the students were defined as poor sleepers and suffered from daytime sleepiness. Health education should be conducted to increase the awareness and knowledge of their sleeping habits and problems, and, to encourage practices promoting good sleep hygiene.

Keywords: Sleep quality, undergraduate