Prevalence of sleep disorders among students
Keywords:
young adults, gender, epidemiology, insomniaAbstract
Introduction and objective
The incidence of sleep disorders and insomnia among young Polish adults has been increasing over the last 10 years, with as many as 60% of those below age 25 suffering from these problems.
The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of sleep disorders among students of Warsaw-based universities and to compare prevalence rates between the genders.
Material and methods
600 students (from 5 university-level schools based in Warsaw) in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of BA programmes, mean age: 22 years (min. 19, max. 23, SD = 0.934), females: 54% (326 persons). A voluntary anonymous questionnaire designed by authors based on available scoring systems for assessing sleep disorders and insomnia: 46 single- and multiple-choice closed questions, semi-open questions and open questions. Statistical design: non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test (p<0.05).
Results
48% of the respondents reported problems falling asleep (63% F, 32% M), (p < 0.05). 61% declared that sleep was not refreshing (72% F, 55% M), (p < 0.001). 12% of the students admitted taking sleep-inducing medication to fall asleep (16% F, 9% M) (p < 0.05). For 52% of the respondents, university classes until late evening hours were a factor making sleep difficult or a cause of insomnia (58% F, 44% M) (p < 0.05). Sleep conditions did not differ significantly between male and female respondents.
Conclusions
1. Sleep disorders were present among both males and females in the study group; however, similar to worldliterature data, the quality of sleep was rated lower by females.
2. Sleep disorders become more significant with age. Therefore, it is important to carry out educational campaigns to promote healthy sleeping habits already among young adults. This is especially important as research shows that the number of young people using sleep-inducing medications has been growing.
3. In our study, sleep disorders were predominantly related to life style-related factors. Accordingly, campaigns promoting healthy sleeping habits should emphasise that life style changes may have a beneficial effect not only on sleep quality, but also on the overall quality of life among young adults without the need to use medication.
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