Abstract
Background: Inadequate sleep is a pressing public health concern contributing to absenteeism and poor school performance, especially in health sciences students. In this study we investigated the sleep quality and duration of undergraduate students in a prefectural university of health sciences program and explored factors explaining sleep duration (i.e., < 6 hours per night vs > 6 hours) using multiple variable logistic regression.
Method: This cross-sectional survey study included 369 nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy students who completed Japanese versions of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, in addition to well validated sleep-related and mental health-related assessments.
Results: We found just 11.7% of the sample reporting low sleep quality, though 40.1% of the sample could be characterized as experiencing sleep debt. Within the logistic regression model 14.5% of sleep duration categorization could be explained. The model best explained factors promoting longer sleep duration (i.e., > 6 hours), including shorter commuting times, fewer difficulties falling and staying asleep, lesser daytime sleepiness, more effective sleep hygiene practices, a “morningness” chronotype preference, and a less agreeable personality type.
Conclusion: We discuss findings related to Buysse’s model of sleep health and offer suggestions for the promotion of sleep health in health sciences university students.
Acknowledgements
Supplementary Materials: Supplemental Table Author Contributions: Conceptualization of the study: A. E., T. S.; study preparation and methodology, A.E., Y. K., M. T., D. K., S. S., & T. S.; formal analysis, A.E., Y. K., T. S.; recruitment of participants and resources, Y. K., D. K., & T. S.; data curation, Y. K., M. T., D. K., & T. S.; writing—original draft preparation, A. E. & T. S.; review and editing of the manuscript, Y. K., M. T., D. K., S. S., & T. S.; project administration, A. M., D. K., & T. S.; funding acquisition, A. E. & T. S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Funding: This study was funded through a Fulbright Research Grant from the United States Department of State awarded to the first author. Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences (protocol code #2108-14 September 2021). Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Data Availability Statement: Requests for access to data used in these analyses may be made of the first author. Acknowledgments: NA Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Recommended Citation
Eakman AM, Kawakatsu Y, Takahata M, Kudo D, Satake S, Sato T. Predictors of Sleep Duration in Undergraduate Students Attending a Health Sciences University in Japan. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2025 Jul 28;23(3), Article 30.
