Sleep Quality and Alcohol Risk in College Students: Examining the Moderating Effects of Drinking Motives

Abstract

Objective Sleep problems and alcohol misuse are common issues experienced by college students that can have detrimental effects on overall health. Previous work indicates a strong relationship between poor sleep quality and alcohol risk in this population. This study explored the moderating effect of drinking motives in the relationship between global sleep quality and experience of alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants College students (N = 1,878) who reported past-month drinking. Methods Participants completed online surveys assessing sleep and alcohol-related behaviors. Results Poorer sleep quality and higher drinking motives (coping, conformity, and enhancement) predicted greater alcohol-related consequences, controlling for drinking. Further, coping motives moderated the relationship between sleep quality and consequences such that participants reporting poor sleep and high coping motives experienced heightened levels of consequences. Conclusions These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between sleep problems and alcohol-related risk and provide implications for targeted campus-based health promotion interventions.

Health indicators associated with poor sleep quality among university students

“…These authors also highlighted that alcohol has a synergistic relationship with sleep deprivation, which increases chances of road accidents and reduces the academic performance of university students (7,8) . Studies carried out on adults in turn highlighted a statistically significant association between alcohol use and the development of sleep apnoea, poor sleep quality and sleep problems ( 9,(21)(22) .…”

“…In addition to this, between 36 and 72% of alcoholics suffer from insomnia after months of abstinence. Another important detail is that normal sleep predominates in the parasympathetic nervous system, while the opposite occurs in alcoholics, leading to the emergence of cardiovascular problems (7)(8)(9) .…”

“…Furthermore, eating and sleep patterns are irregular, with possible negative repercussions on the general health and well-being of university students (7) .…”

Impacto do etanol e consumo de café na qualidade de sono de acadêmicos de medicina

“…Poucos foram os estudos que tiveram como objetivo verificar a correlação entre o consumo de bebidas alcoólicas e/ou cafeína em acadêmicos universitários 10,[15][16][17][18] , porém não há indícios na literatura brasileira sobre esse tema, especialmente em acadêmicos do curso de medicina. Portanto, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a qualidade de sono dos acadêmicos de medicina e analisar a possível correlação entre esta e o consumo de etanol e café.…”

“…Para a avaliação geral de saúde e do consumo de café, foi anexado um questionário para avaliar o Índice de Massa Corpóreo (IMC) e o consumo de cafeína. O IMC (Kg/m²) é classificado pela Organização Mundial da Saúde 26 nas seguintes categorias: Baixo peso (< 18,5), Peso Normal (18,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)9), Sobrepeso (25-29,9), obesidade grau 1 (30 a 34,9), obesidade grau 2 (35 a 39,9) e obesidade grau 3 (≥40). A mensuração da quantidade de café foi padronizada em xícaras de 50 mL e foi questionado quantas dessas os participantes haviam consumido diariamente nos últimos 30 dias 21 .…”