Sleep Quality and Sleep Hygiene Strategies in University Students

Keywords

sleep - university athletes - sleep quality

Introduction: Sleep is an essential part of health promotion, involving physical and mental restoration and learning processes. University students are more susceptible to having an inadequate lifestyle, which can involve sedentary behavior, poor eating habits and unregulated sleep. Therefore, with students' routines, sleep hygiene strategies can be used to minimize the damage caused to this group's sleep, since sleep hygiene is determined as a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations aimed at providing healthier sleep.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of implementing sleep hygiene strategies on the sleep quality of university students who exercise.

Methods: Twenty-five full and night-time university students who participate in physical activity took part in the study. The following questionnaires were applied: anamnesis, chronotype (Horne and Osterberg), mini sleep questionnaire (MSQ), subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh), daytime sleepiness (Epworth), and sleep diary. Next, the sleep hygiene strategies of hot baths 20 minutes before bedtime and reduced use of cell phones 30 minutes before bedtime were implemented into the university students' routines over a 30-day period.

Results: The results showed that 52% of the participants reported having fully followed the sleep hygiene recommendations. Students from both shifts had poor sleep quality (7.04±2.57). After applying sleep hygiene strategies, even though no statistical differences were shown, we found a moderate effect size for reducing the Pittsburgh score (ES=0.61) and sleep latency (ES=0.72) for full-time university students. As for night-time students, even though there were no statistical differences, there was a moderate ES for reducing the Pittsburgh score (ES=0.76).

Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that the implementation of sleep hygiene strategies, such as taking hot baths 20 minutes before bedtime and abstaining from cell phone use 30 minutes before bedtime for a period of 30 days, has displayed a moderate influence on the sleep quality of university students. It is notable that only 50% of the participants adhered fully to these recommended practices.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
16 September 2025