Sleep characteristics, sleep problems, and associations of self-efficacy among German university students

Angelika A Schlarb1,2, Dominika Kulessa1,*, Marco D Gulewitsch1,*1Faculty of Science, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, 2Faculty of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Sleep problems, especially insomnia, are a common complaint among adults. International studies on university students have shown prevalence rates between 4.7% and 36.2% for sleep difficulties, and 13.1% and 28.1% for insomnia. Sleep problems are associated with lower social and academic performance and can have a severe impact on psychological and physical health.Objective: The goal of this study was to outline sleep characteristics, prevalence of sleep problems, insomnia, and associations with self-efficacy among German university students.Methods: A total of 2196 university students (70.9% women; mean age 24.16 years) participated in the study. Sleep characteristics, sleep problems, insomnia, and self-efficacy were assessed using a questionnaire.Results and conclusion: Analyses revealed that more than 16% of surveyed students needed more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. About 7.7% of the students suffered from insomnia. Short sleep was significantly associated with a considerably increased rate of insomnia (20%). Insomniacs showed lower self-efficacy than students without sleep problems.Keywords: university students, sleep characteristics, sleep problems, insomnia, self-efficac

Sleep and somatic complaints in university students

Angelika A Schlarb,1,* Merle Claßen,1,* Sara M Hellmann,1 Claus Vögele,2 Marco D Gulewitsch3 1Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany; 2Faculty of Psychology, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; 3Faculty of Science, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Sleep problems are common among university students. Poor sleep is associated with impaired daily functioning, increased risk of psychiatric symptoms, and somatic complaints such as pain. Previous results suggest that poor sleep exacerbates pain, which in turn negatively affects sleep. The purpose of the present study was to determine prevalence rates, comorbidity, and role of depression as a factor of moderating the relationship between sleep and physical complaints in German university students. Samples and methods: In total, 2443 German university students (65% women) completed a web survey. Self-report measures included the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, three modules of the Patient Health Questionnaire, and a questionnaire on the functional somatic syndromes (FSSs). Results: More than one-third (36.9%) reported poor sleep as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Somatoform syndrome was identified in 23.5%, and the prevalence of any FSS was 12.8%. Self-reported sleep quality, sleep onset latency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medications, and daytime dysfunctioning were significant predictors of somatoform syndrome, whereas sleep efficiency and sleep duration influenced somatic complaints indirectly. Moderate correlations were found between stress, anxiety, somatoform syndrome, depression, and overall sleep quality. The effect of somatic complaints on sleep quality was associated with the severity of depression. Anxiety shows direct effects on somatization and depression but only indirect associations with sleep quality. Keywords: sleep quality, pain, depression, anxiety, subjective measures&nbsp