Sleep hygiene awareness: its relation to sleep quality and diurnal preference

Abstract

BackgroundSleep hygiene is a core component for psychological treatments of insomnia and essential for maintaining a satisfactory sleep. Our study aimed to measure the sleep hygiene awareness and the self-reported quality of sleep among three age groups (young adults, adults and middle-aged adults) and to determine their relation. We also measured their relation with diurnal preference.MethodsUsing an online questionnaire, we surveyed six hundred fifty two participants, recruited nationwide from the community and from the students in three main cities in Romania.ResultsSleep hygiene awareness was moderate on the whole and significantly worse in young adults (compared to the other age groups) and in those complaining of poor sleep (compared to those with good sleep). Sleep quality was average and linked positively with diurnal preference (the more evening oriented, the poorer the sleep). Diurnal preference was not found to play a role regarding sleep hygiene awareness.ConclusionsOur results suggest that better sleep hygiene awareness does not necessarily guarantee better sleep quality and that it may actually be an indicator of dissatisfaction with the obtained sleep.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40303-015-0008-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sleep hygiene awareness: Its relation to sleep quality among medical students in King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…[15] Of note, the percentage of respondents having good knowledge about negative effects of drinking coffee or other substances is similar to those in a study conducted in Romania. [19] In contrast to the results of this study, most of the respondents of the study conducted in Italy and Spain could identify that sleep is impaired by recovering lost sleep by sleeping longer. [15]…”

“…The findings of this study regarding negative effects of using sleep medications regularly, studying in bed, smoking, and drinking alcohol in the evening were compatible with the results of a study conducted in Romania,[19] but incompatible with the results of studies conducted in the United States. [521] One possible explanation is that cultural factors may have affected the SH awareness among different countries.…”

“…[14] This estimated score is also consistent with the average of poor pattern of sleep in Iran,[17] Hong Kong,[18] and Romania. [19]…”

New considerations for Sleep Hygiene

“…Jefferson, et al [1] identified the association between poor sleep hygiene and poor sleepers-Insomniacs. Voinescu and Szentagotal-Tarar [2] analyses of responses from a large-scale survey study of a European adult population indicated low to moderate sleep hygiene awareness was not associated with sleep quality. Stepanski and Wyatt [3] review of sleep hygiene concluded that inconsistent implementation of behavioral practices, timing of sleep hygiene and the consistency of sleep hygiene practices prevented empirical evidence of their utility.…”

College Students’ Sleep Habits and Their Perceptions Regarding Its Effects on Quality of Life

“…It was found that "emotions, physical well-being, and cognition could be negatively impacted by a lack of sleep" (Kloss et al, 2015, p. 1). Voinescu and Szentagotai-Tatar (2015) identified that young adults had a lower awareness of sleep hygiene compared to their adult and middle-aged adult counterparts. Owens (2014) explained that the more sleep diminishing activities that were performed before bed, the poorer quality of sleep.…”