Predictors of poor sleep quality among Lebanese university students: association between evening typology, lifestyle behaviors, and sleep habits

Abstract

Adequate, good night sleep is fundamental to well-being and is known to be influenced by myriad biological and environmental factors. Given the unavailability of sleep data about Lebanon, the cultural shifts and socioeconomic pressures that have affected many aspects of society, particularly for students and working adults, as well as our understanding of sleep in university students in other countries, we conducted a national study to assess sleep quality and factors contributing to sleep and general health in a culture-specific context. A self-filled questionnaire, inquiring about sociodemographics, health-risk behaviors, personal health, and evaluating sleep quality and chronotype using standard scales was completed by 540 students at private and public universities in Lebanon. Overall, they reported sleeping 7.95±1.34 hours per night, although 12.3% reported sleeping <6.5 hours and more than half scored in the poor-sleeper category on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Sleep timing differed markedly between weekdays and weekends, with bedtimes and wake-up times delayed by 1.51 and 2.43 hours, respectively, on weekends. While most scored in the “neither type” category on the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), 24.5% were evening types and 7.3% were morning types. MEQ score was significantly correlated with smoking behavior and daily study onset, as well as with PSQI score, with eveningness associated with greater number of cigarettes, later study times, and poor sleep. We conclude that the prevalence of poor sleep quality among Lebanese university students is associated with reduced sleep duration and shifts in sleep timing between weekdays and weekends, especially among evening types. While chronotype and certain behavioral choices interact to affect sleep dimensions and quality, raising awareness about the importance of obtaining adequate nighttime sleep on daily performance and avoiding risky behaviors may help Lebanese students make better choices in school and work schedules.

Keywords:

• bedtime irregularities
• chronotype
• Lebanon
• PSQI
• sleep duration
• behavioral habits

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS-REF268). The authors thank Fr/Dr Bechara Khoury and Dr Jacqueline Doumit for their input in the early stages of drafting the proposal, and Ms Frida Torosyan for data entry.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work. JFD reports that she is a member of the Sleep Research Society Board of Directors. JFD was supported in part by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital BRI Fund to Sustain Research Excellence.