All Conference Presentations, Performances and Exhibits
College Students’ Sleep Quality and Their Use of Sleep Aids
Location
Guzman Lecture Hall
Start Date
4-15-2016 4:30 PM
End Date
4-15-2016 5:30 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Emily Newton, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Many students face high stress levels through out their time in college that may lead to poor sleep quality. In order to help improve sleep quality, students may turn to easier ways of improving their sleep quality, including sleep aids such as Melatonin, Nyquil, and/or other over the counter medication. There is a variety of previous research done on sleep quality, stress levels, and sleep aid usage independently but very little on all three combined. For instance, Buboltz (2001) studied solely sleep quality in college students while Coleman (2015) studied stress levels and drug usage among college students but neither authors have considered all components in a study. The purpose of my study is to consider all three factors among college students. Specifically, I will be analyzing college students at Dominican University of California in all grade levels who are taking psychology courses. Solicited participants (n ≈ 50) will be asked to complete a 38-item questionnaire on surveymonkey.com. This questionnaire will include the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (Buysee, 1989), the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983), and demographic questions asking about the participant’s gender, grade level, and age. The hypotheses for this present study are: a) with age students are more prone to using sleep aids, b) students who have higher levels of stress are more prone to using sleep aids, and c) students who have lower levels of sleep quality are more likely to have higher levels of stress. It is important to study sleep quality, stress levels, and sleep aid use among college students to better understand what college students face and how higher education departments can help students improve their sleep quality and lessen their vulnerability to the usage of sleep aids. The data for this study will be collected during February and March of 2016.
College Students’ Sleep Quality and Their Use of Sleep Aids
Guzman Lecture Hall
Many students face high stress levels through out their time in college that may lead to poor sleep quality. In order to help improve sleep quality, students may turn to easier ways of improving their sleep quality, including sleep aids such as Melatonin, Nyquil, and/or other over the counter medication. There is a variety of previous research done on sleep quality, stress levels, and sleep aid usage independently but very little on all three combined. For instance, Buboltz (2001) studied solely sleep quality in college students while Coleman (2015) studied stress levels and drug usage among college students but neither authors have considered all components in a study. The purpose of my study is to consider all three factors among college students. Specifically, I will be analyzing college students at Dominican University of California in all grade levels who are taking psychology courses. Solicited participants (n ≈ 50) will be asked to complete a 38-item questionnaire on surveymonkey.com. This questionnaire will include the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (Buysee, 1989), the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983), and demographic questions asking about the participant’s gender, grade level, and age. The hypotheses for this present study are: a) with age students are more prone to using sleep aids, b) students who have higher levels of stress are more prone to using sleep aids, and c) students who have lower levels of sleep quality are more likely to have higher levels of stress. It is important to study sleep quality, stress levels, and sleep aid use among college students to better understand what college students face and how higher education departments can help students improve their sleep quality and lessen their vulnerability to the usage of sleep aids. The data for this study will be collected during February and March of 2016.