0174 Patterns of sleep habits and their impact on nighttime sleep quality in college students

Abstract Introduction Poor sleep quality is common in college student. Unhealthy sleep habits (e.g., delayed bedtime, inconsistent sleep routine between schooldays and weekends) could lead to poor sleep quality, which is associated with poor academic performance, mental and physical health. However, little is known about the patterns of sleep habits in terms of timing and consistency and their impact on nighttime sleep quality in college students. Methods This was a cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey to examine sleep in college students. The Classification and Regression Tree (C&RT) was used to identify distinct patterns based on sleep habits including bedtime and wake-up time (usual, schooldays, and weekends), and consistency of bedtime, wake-up time, and duration between schooldays and weekends. The response variable was nighttime sleep quality measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score. The imputed PSQI global score was used to minimize missing data. Results A total of 439 students participated in this survey, with a response rate at 22%. Four distinct clusters were identified. Both Cluster 1 (37.8%) and Cluster 2 (10.9%) included participants who reported a difference in sleep duration between schooldays and weekends < 1.75 hours, with Cluster 1 reporting a usual bedtime before 1:45AM while Cluster 2 after 1:45AM. Both Cluster 3 (3.4%) and Cluster 4 (47.8%) included participants who reported a difference in sleep duration between schooldays and weekends ≥ 1.75 hours, with Cluster 3 reporting school-day wake-up time before 7AM while Cluster 4 after 7AM. Among the four clusters, participants in Cluster 3 (late riser with inconsistent schooldays-weekends duration) had the worst sleep quality (8.95±3.43), followed by Cluster 2 (late sleeper with consistent schooldays-weekends duration, 6.98±2.79) and Cluster 4 (late riser with inconsistent schooldays-weekends duration, 6.83±2.87). Cluster 1 (“early” sleepers with consistent schooldays-weekends duration) had the best sleep quality among all (5.61±2.54). Conclusion Distinct patterns of sleep timing and consistency can have significant impact on sleep quality, with some habits such as extremely late bedtime and inconsistent sleep duration between schooldays and weekends had the most negative impact. Tailoring interventions targeting these unhealthy sleep habits are needed in promoting sleep in this population. Support (if any) None