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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 42, Number 3

Evaluation of Nighttime Media Use and Sleep Patterns in First-semester College Students

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Objective: We evaluated how nighttime media use is associated with sleep behaviors in firstsemester college students, and variation by weight status. Methods: In September 2016, first-semester college students (N = 114) completed surveys evaluating nighttime media usage (NMU) and sleep behaviors. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured, and weight status was determined by body mass index. Results: Students reported a mean sleep duration of 7.26 ± 0.93 hours. Only 33% (N = 38) reported sleeping at least 8 hours/night on average. Higher scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were correlated with reports of texting after bed (r = .199, p = .04). Total time in bed was correlated with texting in bed (r = .217, p = .026) and device-related sleep interruptions (r = .215, p = .028). Social media usage (r = 0.270, p = .005), mobile gaming (r = .208, p = .033), and texting (r = .293, p = .002) were correlated with sleep interruptions. NMU was positively correlated with weight and weight status. Conclusions: These results suggest NMU is associated with reduced sleep quality.

Keywords: COLLEGE STUDENT HEALTH; FIRST-SEMESTER COLLEGE STUDENTS; MEDIA USE; SLEEP PATTERNS; SLEEP QUALITY; WEIGHT STATUS

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Doctoral Student, Translational Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 2: Professor, Division of Kinesiology and Health, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 3: Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 4: Assistant Professor, Diabetes Institute and Department of Family Medicine, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH;, Email: [email protected]

Publication date: 01 May 2018

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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