This study examined the prevalence and correlates of sleep disturbance in adolescents. Two hundred seventy-seven 9th- and 10th-grade students completed a questionnaire on sleep quality, sleep habits, beliefs about sleep, and daytime mood and functioning. Based on their responses, subjects were classified as good sleepers (66%), occasional poor sleepers (23%), and chronic poor sleepers (11%). Occasional and chronic poor sleepers reported being significantly more depressed, without energy, tense, moody, and irritable and less rested and alert than good sleepers. They were also more likely to describe themselves negatively. However, poor sleepers were not consistently more tired than good sleepers. Rather, they tended to be least tired in the evening, the time when most good sleepers reported feeling tired. There were few differences in the sleep habits and beliefs about sleep of good and poor sleepers. All subjects reported shifts in bedtimes and waketimes from weekdays to weekends, with occasional and chronic poor sleepers showing a tendency toward greater shifts, a possible factor contributing to their sleep disturbance. Occasional and chronic poor sleepers also reported more observable behaviors and feelings of stress than good sleepers. The need for early intervention with particular attention to teaching adolescents about good sleep habits and the need for stable bedtimes and waketimes and the possibility of joint intervention on daytime stress and sleeping problems are discussed.
Good health and chronic diseases exist essentially as matters of habit as well as context in how people routinely go about the business of everyday living. Recently the crucial roles of behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors in health and disease have been recognized, giving rise to the new fields of health psychology and behavioral medicine. The growing complexities involved yield a host of conceptual, methodological, and clinical problems. Examples include narrow definitions of health and disease, abuse of statistical significance testing in research, and confusing conceptualizations of chronic stress. To illustrate treatment possibilities, several ongoing broadly based intervention programs in the cardiovascular disease area are discussed. The many ways in which counseling psychologists might participate in problem areas in the health field clearly offer exciting challenges and opportunities.
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