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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2022
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Counselor Education
First Advisor
Mark A. Lumley
Abstract
Although sleep is a necessary function, it is not always prioritized, especially among university students. Sleep deprivation can be detrimental to university students due to an impact on memory, focus, emotional regulation, and stress levels. There is a bi-directional relationship between sleep quality and stress levels. The vast majority, if not all research studies involving sleep quality and stress interventions focuses on the direct impact stress reduction techniques have on sleep quantity. The researcher’s main objective in conducting this study was to identify if undergraduate university participants exposed to a behavioral sleep education intervention that focused on teaching sleep hygiene techniques to improve sleep quality would have significantly less perceived stress compared with participants exposed to an active control. This topic was also explored to clarify some of the recent ambiguous literature regarding the bidirectional relationship between sleep quality and stress. The researcher’s secondary objective in conducting this study was to increase awareness regarding the importance of sleep among university students and equip participants with sleep hygiene techniques to form more productive sleep habits. The general population targeted in this study were undergraduate students in a large urban Midwestern university. The intervention was facilitated virtually using Qualtrics, which randomly assigned participants to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group received a behavioral sleep education intervention and were randomly assigned three out of the six sleep hygiene modules: bedtime routine, exercise, nutrition, sleep environment, bedtime relaxation, and sleep schedule. Goal setting was included in each module to further encourage behavior change based on Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). The control group also received three modules with a similar structure as the intervention group. In contrast, the active control did not encourage any behavior change or mention the benefits of sleep. Instead, the modulus focused on sleep facts including the history of sleep, the sleep cycle, and dreams. At baseline and post-intervention, both groups completed measures quantify the dependent variables: perceived stress was measured by the Perceived Stress Scale 10-Item; sleep hygiene was measured by the Sleep Hygiene Index, and sleep quality was measured by the Sleep Disturbance Short Form 8b. Results demonstrated that participants in the behavioral sleep education intervention had lower perceived stress, more productive sleep hygiene behavior, and better sleep quality post-intervention compared with participants in the control group.
Recommended Citation
Ghoul, Zeina, "The Impact Of Behavioral Sleep Education On Undergraduate University Students’ Perceived Stress And Sleep Quality: A Randomized, Controlled Trial" (2022). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3756.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3756