Work

Examining Prevalence of Insomnia and Predictors of Sleep Quality Among Undergraduate Students

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Poor sleep is highly prevalent among university students, yet it is rarely assessed systematically or addressed through early intervention. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of insomnia within a non-clinical sample of Malaysian undergraduate students and to examine the predictive roles of sleep hygiene, daytime sleepiness and maladaptive sleep beliefs on sleep quality. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 220 undergraduate students (74.1% female, mean age = 21.6 years) completed a set of self-report questionnaires assessing sleep hygiene, insomnia severity, sleepiness, sleep quality and demographic information including self-reported height and weight. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine relationships among variables and hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine predictors of sleep quality. Results showed that 70% of participants were classified as poor sleepers, with an average Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score of 7.44. Sub-threshold insomnia was reported by 41.8% of participants, while 35.5% and 2.7% reported moderate and severe clinical insomnia, respectively. Poor sleep quality was significantly associated with insomnia severity (r = .56), poor sleep hygiene (r = .41), daytime sleepiness (r = .13), maladaptive sleep beliefs (r = .19), and body mass index (r = .19). Among these factors, sleep hygiene was the strongest predictor of sleep quality in this sample (β = .198, p = .003). The findings indicate the need for early intervention, such as sleep education promoting healthy sleep hygiene given the high prevalence of as sub-threshold insomnia among students with poor sleep quality. Future research should explore within-person relationships between daily sleep hygiene behaviours and sleep quality.

Source: International Journal of Education Psychology and Counseling

DOI: 10.35631/ijepc.1058072.

Authors: Vanida Tian, Fatanah Ramlee, Priyalatha Govindasamy

Institution: Sultan Idris Education University

Language: English

Topic: Sleep and related disorders

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Quality education

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris