Lifestyle Factors’ Impact on Sleep of College Students

Transitioning to college is often met with distinct lifestyle factors that differ from those individuals who do not make such a transition. Such factors include alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, psychostimulant use, dietary habits, class schedules, and physical activity. These lifestyle factors may impact the sleep length and quality of college students, which leads to other outcomes. Research has explored the relationship between some of these factors and sleep among college students with mixed results. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between several lifestyle factors of college students and their impact on the length and quality of sleep. Results indicated that food choice and physical activity are significantly related to sleep quality. Additionally, the amount of caffeine consumed was determined to be related to sleep quality. For sleep length, both amount of caffeine consumed and average hours worked per week were related to sleep length. Although some factors were determined not to predict sleep quality or sleep length, results indicated that there are several specific lifestyle factors associated with being a college student that impact sleep length and sleep quality. Thus, colleges and universities should evaluate the amount and quality of sleep of their students.