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Abstract
This study describes sleep behaviors of U.S. college students (N = 1,252; 18–24 years old; 59% female) and examines associations of sleep duration with weight-related behaviors. More than one quarter of participants slept < 7 hr/night and had mean Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores indicating poor sleep quality. There were significant differences for all PSQI scales among sleep duration categories, < 7 hr (n = 344), 7–8 hr (n = 449), ≥ 8 hr (n = 459) sleep/night. Compared to those who slept ≥ 8 hr, those who slept < 8 hr had significantly more negative eating attitudes (2% higher), poorer internal regulation of food (4% lower), and greater binge eating (4% higher) scores. Findings advocate for health care professionals to evaluate sleep behaviors of college students during office visits and promote good sleep behaviors.
FUNDING
Research was supported in part by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; USDA National Research Initiative 2005-35215-154121541; NIH Grant M01RR10732; Kansas, Maine, New Jersey, Iowa, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Stations; Syracuse University; and East Carolina University.