{
  "abstract": "Introduction University students are known to have poor-quality sleep, which may be attributed to academic and social pressures, as well as being influenced by environmental and behavioural factors. Sleep education may have the potential to improve sleep quality and duration, which may subsequently enhance overall health and well-being in addition to academic success. If implemented effectively, sleep education offers Universities a cost-effective, wide-reaching solution for supporting healthier behaviours in student populations. This study aimed to investigate whether providing university students with sleep education content would lead to a short-term improvement in sleep quality.Methods Seventy-three undergraduate students completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at baseline and again two weeks later. Participants self-selected into either a free-living control group (FLG; n=29) or a sleep education group (SEG; n=44), which received three ~5-minute audio-visual presentations seven days after baseline. The education content included: ‘Sleep science, scheduling and duration’; ‘Impact of poor sleep on university students’; and ‘Healthy lifestyle habits to improve sleep’. The ΔPSQI global sleep score was compared between groups using a Mann-Whitney U test.Results There were no differences between groups at baseline (p=0.772). Change in PSQI global score from baseline to week 2 (ΔPSQI) was significantly different between groups (p=0.040, r=0.24), with the SEG improving their sleep quality (-1 ± 2) compared to the FLG, where there was no change (0 ± 3). The number of students with clinically poor sleep (PSQI > 5) decreased in the SEG by 13%, whereas the FLG saw a 7% increase.Discussion This study highlights the potential for embedding sleep education interventions into university settings. While these preliminary findings are encouraging, further research is needed to assess the longer-term effectiveness, optimal timing of intervention delivery and whether tailoring of content to individual students is feasible and could enhance its impact.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "SHAPE Research Centre, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Eleanor Procter"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "SHAPE Research Centre, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Emma Sweeney"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Fran Pilkington-Cheney"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "SHAPE Research Centre, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Alfie Price"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom",
        "NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Matthew Savage"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom",
        "NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Ruth James"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P22 Improving university students’ sleep through sleep education: a comparison with a free-living control group",
  "uid": "d0201af2-4e33-5481-9796-f2595339c783"
}