Running head: ​SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS 1

Understanding the Concerns of College going female students: Focus on sleeping

patterns
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
2
ABSTRACT

Sleep deprivation is a common problem in the young adult college student population. Sleep

deprivation is linked to decreased physical health, mental health, and academic performance.

In this regard, the study attempts to explore the possible effects of these sleep disturbances on

the students’ health by creating a safe space to share the strategies the participants use to deal

with inadequate sleep. A sample of 7 outstation female college students were sampled using

purposive and convenience sampling. The study made use of a participatory workshop for

gathering data and the verbal data was thematically analyzed Decreased parental control and

living in shared spaces emerged as a prominent cause for disturbance of the sleep-wake cycle

of college students. Moreover, ineffective functioning, unstable affect and exhaustion turned

out to be the most commonly experienced ill effects of the disturbed sleeping pattern.

Engaging in physical activities, reducing the mobile phone and social media usage, avoiding

caffeinated drinks before bed time and creating a favourable environment for sleep

facilitation were some of the major strategies suggested by the participants for enhancing the

quality of their sleep.

Keywords​: inadequate sleep, college students, parental control, shared spaces

SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
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Understanding the Concerns of College going female students: Focus on sleeping
patterns
All health professionals agree to the fundamental importance of restorative sleep in
maintaining one’s physical as well as mental health. Sleep disturbances are also associated
with poor performance at work and increased risk of accidents. Daytime functioning and
emotional well being have also been found to be contingent on good sleep. The body
performs a number of activities while sleeping.
Sleep consists of two recurring phases: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and NREM
(Non-Rapid Eye Movement). NREM comprises 75-80% of sleep and consists of four stages.
The first stage comes between being awake and falling asleep. The second is light sleep,
when heart rate and breathing regulate and body temperature drops. The third and fourth
stages are deep sleep. Most of the restorative activities of the body take place during NREM
phase like tissue growth and repair, restoration of energy and release of hormones that are
essential for growth and development (Morselli et al., 2010). REM sleep is the phase where
dreaming occurs and is essential to one’s mind for processing and consolidating emotions,
memories and stress. It is also thought to be vital for learning as it stimulates the brain
regions used in learning and developing new skills.
Healthy sleep requires adequate duration, good quality, appropriate timing and
regularity, and the absence of sleep disturbances or disorders. Amount of sleep that is
appropriate for an individual is a debated issue and there is not much agreement among
researchers.
Because of a multitude of intrinsic and environmental factors, the adolescents are
particularly vulnerable to disturbed sleep, and are one of the most sleep deprived age groups
in the country. First, pubertal adolescents experience a biologically based phase change in
their circadian rhythm that delays sleep and wake onset, making it physically harder to
maintain earlier bedtimes. Second, external factors like increasing caffeine consumption and
late night use of electronics further delay sleep onset. Third, early start times for middle
schools and high schools demand earlier weekday rise-times. Finally, even with sufficient
sleep times, adolescents have increased daytime sleepiness and a greater physiological need
for sleep compared to prepubertal children, which may result from maturational changes in
neuronal connectivity.
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
4
College and Sleep
As college marks the beginning of a new phase marked with increased workload and a
sense of autonomy. It then comes as no surprise that sleep is the first thing to be
compromised with while meeting vast array of social, academic, and extracurricular
demands. The lack of quality sleep among college students has been steadily increasing over
time (Wolfson, 2010), with approximately half of college students reporting insufficient
sleep, irregular sleep or other sleep difficulties (Buboltz et al., 2006; Tsai & Li, 2004) and
27% categorized as meeting the threshold for an undiagnosed sleep disorder (e.g., narcolepsy,
insomnia, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea). In fact, in a 2010 study of 1125 college
students, over 60% were classified as poor- quality sleepers (Lund, Reider, Whiting, &
Prichard, 2010). In addition, national surveys of undergraduates have shown a steady decline
in median hours of sleep reported, from 7.75 in 1969 to 6.65 in 2001, with first- and
second-year students reporting less time in bed because of earlier wake times and more
erratic sleep-wake schedules (Hicks, Fernandez, & Pellegrini, 2001; Singleton & Wolfson,
2009). Indeed, sleep habits are one of the first daily habits to change for first-year college
students (Pilcher, Ginter, & Sadowsky, 1997). The first two years of college represent an
important developmental transition accompanied by a host of challenges (e.g., greater
autonomy and control over free time, residence hall living, emotional and academic stress),
which may contribute to irregular sleep schedules, sleep disruption, and sleep deprivation.
Gender Differences. ​Many cross sectional studies have demonstrated that the
reported quality of sleep is contingent upon age as well as sex with women having a greater
prevalence. A study by Coren (1994) found that women (age 17 to 30 years) were more
likely to have nightmares, delayed sleep onset, and frequent night awakenings. Another study
that used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) showed that women aged 20–29 years
have poorer sleep quality than men of the same age group. Reyner and Horne (1995), using
sleep logs and actimetry, found no significant gender differences in sleep latency, wake up
time, total sleep time, or sleep quality in the 20 – 34 years group, however, they found that
women had more nocturnal awakenings than men. The major cause of these awakenings in
these young women was found to be children.

Performance. ​Sleep is an important biological necessity that all people need to

maintain a healthy lifestyle. It helps people work at an optimum level and is critical for brain
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
5
functioning, helping with all the cognitive functions such as memory, learning, decision
making, and critical thinking. This makes sleep extremely important for academic
performance.. Researchers have investigated the relationship between sleep deprivation and
two variables, task performance and individual productivity. Many studies in the past have
shown that sleep deprivation does correlate with poor academic performance because of
lower abilities in cognition as a result of poor sleep quality. In the study done by Gilbert and
Weaver (2010), the two researchers found that sleep loss interferes with a student’s academic,
extracurricular and vocational choices. They also found that the amount of hours students
sleep in a 24-hour period has greatly decreased over the years while sleep dissatisfaction has
increased. Another study done by Medeiros et al. (2001), found a correlation between poor
academic performances and sleep deprivation but in this study, they analyzed how irregular
sleep cycles can be the result of different days of the week. Adolescents suffer from
increasing school, family and social pressure and from an environmentally induced delay of
sleep timing, together with changes of intrinsic regulatory processes. Taken together, these
altered sleep patterns lead to a marked increase in sleepiness that usually facilitates
cognitive, emotional, behavioural and academic failure (Carskadon et al., 2004). Thus,
learning abilities and consequent academic performance are particularly dependent on sleep
patterns and sleepiness levels. These impairments in neurocognitive functioning can be
observed in several kinds of learners: from school to university students.

Participatory Method

Participatory method is a set of tools and techniques for gathering, sharing and
analyzing information for planning and action. They are ‘participatory’ as they involve a
number of people other than the researcher himself/herself in the research process.
Workshops have become a most favored method of communication with different
stakeholders collecting data and sometimes for jointly analyzing data. The different types of
participatory workshop methods are:

SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Workshop​. It is a technique

that enables a group or individual to move from everyday problems and traditional strategies
to fresh perspective. It focuses on individual’s strength and weaknesses, and opportunities
and threats.
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
6
Appreciate Influence Control​. This workshop is based on technique that encourages
stakeholders to consider social, political, and cultural factors along with technical and
economic aspects that influence a given project.

Possible Future Workshop (Future Search). This technique brings people together to
elaborate possible strategies for acting on identical problems and issues e.g. youth
employment, crime prevention. The participants, who preferably represent different
experiences, contribute their ideas to change and improve situation.

Scenario Workshops​. This technique encourages local action with a mix of scenario and
workshop which aims to solve local problems and anticipate future ones. Scenarios involve
narrative descriptions of potential future problems that emphasize relationships between
events ​and decision points. In addition, scenarios direct attention to causes, areas for
development and the span of exigencies that may be met in a local community issue.

Public Hearing​. In this, physical planning programmers take place, which involves the
public in commenting on furthering plans. Hearing may use the public media, which includes
public meeting arrangements where dialogue takes place between decision makers, experts
and public audience.

Consensus Conference. It has become a popular form of public consultation by using the
technique which intended to bridge the gap between the general public, experts and
politicians.(Mikkelsen, 2005)

Present Study
The present study seeks to examine the sleeping patterns of college going students
through a participatory workshop. Previous researches along with the researchers’ own
personal experience suggest that there is a prevalence of sleep disturbances among the college
population as college environment is less structured as compared to the school environment.
Moreover, since this transition is more grave in the outstation students, they were selected for
the study. In this regard, this study attempts to explore the possible effects of these sleep
disturbances on the students’ health by creating a safe space to share the strategies the
participants use to deal with inadequate sleep. The need for this study emerges from the
curiosity to understand the sleeping patterns prevalent among college students, the impact of
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
7
such patterns on students’ health and encouraging them to actively make amendments in their
sleeping patterns if necessary.
Method
For the purpose of the study, female college going students falling in the age range of
18-21 were selected using purposive and convenience sampling. All of the participants were
outstation students who belonged to women’s college pursuing different courses of study.
Outstation students were specifically selected so as to tap the difficulties faced by them for
the topic chosen. ​The method used was participatory workshop which is, an organised event
which brings a group of people together to seek their opinions, extract their knowledge and to
solve problems in a collaborative and creative environment.
​Procedure
The room was set up in order to facilitate communication. Chairs were arranged in a
circle so that researchers and participants can interact with one another. The participants were
called and rapport was formed with them so as to make them comfortable. Then the
participants were told about the purpose of the study and were informed that they can leave
the workshop whenever they wish to. Permission for visually recording the session was taken
from the participants. Then they were asked to sign the consent forms.
The first activity was the chart activity on which each participant had to write their
sleeping time at different ages. The age range was 6-12 years, 12-16 years and 16-21 years.
After which a discussion took place regarding the observed change in the sleeping time and
pattern. Various reasons were discussed for the same.
The next activity was a video in which a person was said to not been slept for 11 days.
Again, the discussion took place regarding the health issues he might face. Participants were
asked to reflect upon the same. Participants were able to relate and thought about the health
issues one might face because of the irregular sleeping pattern.
The final activity was a chart activity in which participants were suppose to write,
what things they do which affect their sleeping pattern and what they must do ideally in order
to improve or correct their sleeping pattern. After which a discussion followed how one can
achieve such activities and tasks in order to have a better sleeping pattern. Also, importance
of correct sleeping pattern was discussed. Participants were provided with contact numbers of
the researcher, feedback was taken verbally and they were allowed to ask some questions if
they wished. The session was ended and the recording was stopped. Once the participatory
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
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workshop was conducted, the verbal data was transcribed and analysed using thematic
analysis. Thematic analysis is a method involving identification, analysis and reporting of
patterns within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). A theme represents an important aspect of the
data in relation to the research question, thereby deriving meaning from the data set (Braun &
Clarke, 2006). While doing the analysis, meaning units were identified which were clubbed
to form codes. Codes were further clubbed together to form themes. Then a thematic analysis
table, consisting of themes, codes and verbatim for those codes was made.
​Results
Given below is the thematic analysis table elucidating the data gathered from the
workshop.

Table 1. ​Table showing Themes, Codes and Verbatim of the Data Analysed using Thematic
Analysis

Themes Codes Verbatims

Different perceptions of Single word descriptions of sleeping “Crazy”

one’s sleeping pattern pattern “Clockwise”
“Upside-Down”
“Inadequate”

Disturbed Pattern “Like it’s sometimes

that side ..then this side
then again
upside-down, then
z-position”

No fixed time of sleeping “Agar mei assignment

kar rhi hu mujhy 2
ghnte nind mili hai
uske bad meri
assignment submission
hai…. kabhi bhi mei jo
nind reh gyi hai usko
din m complete krleti
hu”
“Han uss waqt mei
nind aygi but agar apke
pas kuch kam hai toh
app tab nahi soyge and
apka voh routine vahi
par break ho jayga and
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
9

next day you can again

start a new cycle”

Benefits of sleep Mid day sleep refreshes mind “First thing i do is

sleep”
“it is like an energizer”

Sleep discerned as means of “Sleep is constant state

relaxation of mind. No
responsibilities.”

“Mere liy sleep esa like

ek refresh hone ke liye
mtlbh agar ab
headache hora hai
matlbh ab toh sona hai
toh bs ho gya agar nind
ari h toh so jate hai 3-4
hours aram milta hai
uth jao padne lag jayo
yaa kuch kam karne lag
jayo fir phone pe lg
jayo”

Ideal sleeping Sombre environment for sound ​“I can’t sleep in like
environment sleep bahut zyada jaha shor
ho raha hai, I can’t. I
can’t sleep agar light
on ho toh, nahi ayegi
mujhe neend.”

“Mujhe bilkul shanti

chahiye sone ke liye.
Bulkul shanti, andhera
hona chahiye varna
mujhe neend nahi
aayegi.”

“I want peace while

sleeping. Noise distract
me.”
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
10

Adequate sleep due to Disciplined sleep schedule in school “I lived with my

parental control & strict due to parental control parents. And they use
school schedule to force me that you
have to sleep from this
time to this time so now
I can sleep whenever , I
am away from home
nobody is there to force
me or restrict me to
sleep so that’s the
thing”
“Like pehle raat ko
hume force kiya jata ki
soja sojao kal subah
jaldi uthna hai. Toh
hum log jaldi so jaate
the”

“Mumma papa was

like uth jaao school
jaana hai, but yahan
nahi hai aisa kuch.”

“But ab toh, koi

restrictions nahi hai
toh kabhi bhi so jao,
bahut der se.”

Home provides a much more “when I go back home

disciplined sleeping pattern to mei 10-11 tak soo
jati hu aram se tb mei
phone use bhi nahi
karti or yehi agar pg
mei hote hai toh sone
ka man nhi kartya”
“Mei bhi ghar jati hu
toh 11 bje sab chor deti
hu par yahan par rehti
hu toh mrko pata hai
koi tokne vala nahi hai
toh toh I am like 2 bje
tak 3 bje tak chlare
hai”
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
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Factors causing Students adopt undisciplined pattern “Toh pg mei toh ye

inadequate sleep of life when living alone feeling hai ki chalo
apna room hai kuch bhi
kr skte hai toh voh cosy
cosy feels hoti hai to
kuch bhi kr skte hai esa
lagta hai”

Flexible college schedule adversely “Nahi...matlab abhi

affects sleep college mai aake he
badla hai ye”

“During my school
time, I used to stay in
hostel. During that time
they used to force me to
sleep at a particular
time. Now, I can sleep
at any time. There is no
one to restrict me.”

“Exam ke pressure se.

Exams pose a hindrance to proper
Exam time mei, mai bhi
sleep
3 se 4 ghanta hii soti
hu.”

“I’ve been living in

Sleep environment adversely
PG. We have a sharing
affected by roommates
room, so it’s very
distracting. when your
roommate is talking on
her phone, toh it’s like
“aapko college nahi
janana, par mujhe jana
hai, let me sleep.”

“Like mere pg mates

vse bhi late sote hai toh
voh pass mei beth kar
bukkr bukkr karte rehte
hai toh obviously mrko
nind toh nahi aa skti.”

“Firstly, we dint have

Screen time disrupts sleeping
laptops and phones uss
pattern
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
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samay ab jab ye sab

hai toh kabhi bhi use
krlete hai toh raat bhar
mei hum usi mei lage
rehte hai agar dekha
jaye toh”

“Continuous use of
mobile phones which
disturbs our sleeping
pattern.”

“Watching T.V.,playing
video games and using
much of my time in
social medias like
whatsapp or
instagram.”

Ill effects of inadequate Feelings of drowsiness and “Bahut heavy heavy sa

sleep heaviness feel hota hai bahut
drowsy.”

Ineffective functioning “Earlier I could do

whatever I wanted to
do but abhi aisa hai ki
bohot saari cheezein I
leave because I can’t,
like bohot dard ho raha
hai toh mai nahi kar
paati but earlier mujhe
jo karna tha mai time
limit me kar leti thi
because mai achche se
so paati thi. I feel so
lazy right now.”

“Earlier, I was so
energetic, I was so
enthusiastic ki mujhe
karna hai toh karna
hai. I planned my
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
13

schedule earlier but

abhi toh plan ke hisaab
se kuch bhi nahi hota.
So I believe, it’s
because of the
difference in the timing
of sleep. I believe.”

Unstable mood and low attention “Mere mind mein itni

shakti hi nahin hai ki
sun paaye”
“Koi puche toh na aisa
lagta hai ki nahin
sunna hai”
“Koi ye bhi bol de ki
koi kaam karna hai toh,
irritate ho jaati hu.”

Drained out and exhausted “Mai na ekdum thak

chuki thi. Itna irritation
ho raha tha ki aisa lag
raha tha koi kuch bole
aur mai maar du usse”

Effects on body “Zyada irritation ho

raha tha aur headache
toh itna zyada ki kahin
bhi baith jao toh
literally neend aa jaati
thi, seconds mein wo
bhi”

“Next day fir I don’t

feel like eating, kuch
bhi khane ka maan
nahin karta hai bilkul
aur kuch peene ka
maan nahin. Body feels
like it is decomposing.”

Suggestions for improving Physical activities help to sleep “Pahle k mutabik zada
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
14

sleep better. jaldi bina distraction k

dhang se so paye jab
maine physical
activities kari.”

“Mere hisab se I think

that personally yoga is
a very good for
sleeping patterns”

Techniques for creating a sombre “Best method to sound

environment. sleep is like you should
wear eye masks and the
earbuds and like using
complete darkness ”

Reducing screen time “Avoid mobile phones

as much as possible so
I can sleep and be
Fresh.”

“Using time on
planning a proper
schedule,not using
much time in
playing video games.”

“ Switch off cell

phones.”

“Use social media for

a limited amount of
time.”
Organized schedule “Dinner should be
almost between two to
three before you go to
your sleep schedule.”
“The best time to sleep
is from
10:00pm-3-00am.That
is the time your
brain can actually built
your sense kyuki ye
time hota jab I don’t
know
jab hamari body ha
uaka biological clock
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
15

hota hai agar hum usko

follow
nahi karte hai ,aiasa
nahi hai ki hum kabhi
bhi so jao ge to jo
essential
cheze hai jo aap I sleep
k waqt honi chahiye wo
ho jaye gi . Sab se best
sleep hai
10:00pm-3:00am app
itne time k beech me
sou ge to aap k jo
health hai wo aacha
hoati hai.”

Avoiding caffeinated drinks

“Caffeinated drinks
like tea or coffee or
energy drinks o liquor.
If u guys tend to smoke
before sleeping that
also interferes.”

“Having coffee keeps

you awake.”

“I drink black tea and

phir neend ud jaati
hai.”

Discussion
The primary objective of the study was to examine the sleeping patterns of college
going students through a participatory workshop. This study also attempted to explore the
negative effects of students’ sleep disturbances on their health. It further aimed at yielding
some strategies to deal with inadequate sleep, encouraging the students to make amendments
in their sleeping patterns if necessary. These objectives were fulfilled by conducting a
participatory workshop on 7 outstation students and, then analyzing the data gathered from
the workshop. While analyzing, codes and the underlying themes were identified. These
themes are discussed below in detail.
The first theme that emerged was ​Different perceptions of one’s sleeping pattern.
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
16
This theme highlights various viewpoints that the participants had pertaining to their own
sleep schedule. It was seen that the sleeping pattern was perceived to be disturbed and
flexible. Some participants described their sleeping pattern as ​“Crazy” a​ nd ​“Inadequate”,
while one of the participants described her sleeping pattern as ​“Clockwise”.​ The disturbed
pattern of sleep is evident from the verbatim of one the participants- ​“Like it’s sometimes that
side ..then this side then again upside-down, then ​ oreover, one of the
z-position”. M
participants contended that ​“Agar mei assignment kar rhi hu mujhy 2 ghnte nind mili hai uske
bad meri assignment submission hai…. kabhi bhi mei jo nind reh gyi hai usko din m complete
​ hich reflects upon the flexible sleep schedule. A study done by Lund, et al
krleti hu”, w
(2009) on college students revealed that the students perceived their sleep as disturbed. In the
context of flexible sleeping schedule, Oginska, et al (2006) asserted that daytime sleepiness
was a major problem exhibited by majority of the college student population. Hershner &
Chervin (2014) proposed that sleep deprivation, primarily caused due to going late to bed and
waking up early, was the most common cause of daytime sleepiness as students tend to
compensate their lost sleep during the day. Further, the sleep schedule of the students was
irregular in the sense that their bedtimes and time of waking were delayed during weekends,
as compared to weekdays (Lund, et al, 2009). Moreover, Kryger, et al (2005) postulated that
sleepiness is dependent on the various circumstances the student is in, and it is the students’
learning environment that aggravates sleepiness. This further strengthens the proposition that
students don’t have a fixed time of sleeping and that their sleep schedule is flexible. Hence, it
can be inferred that disturbed and flexible sleeping schedule is pervasive among college
students.
The second theme that emerged was ​Benefits of sleep. ​This theme broadly focuses on
the psychological benefits of sleep. One of the participants stated that ​“Sleep is constant state
of mind. No responsibilities.” a​ nd ​“Mere liy sleep esa like ek refresh hone ke liye mtlbh agar
ab headache hora hai matlbh ab toh sona hai toh bs ho gya agar nind ari h toh so jate hai
3-4 hours aram milta hai uth jao padne lag jayo yaa kuch kam karne lag jayo fir phone pe lg
jayo”, ​which highlights the refreshing and relaxing effects of sleep. The benefits of sleep on
the psychological front can be supported by the contention of Monroe (1967) that good
sleepers generally have better psychological health than the individuals who have disturbed
pattern of sleep. Moreover, a study by Asaoka (2004) revealed that an early sleep onset in the
second and the third year students resulted in better psychological states. Early sleep onset
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
17
was also found to be associated with better mood and social interaction experienced the
following day (Totterdell, 1994). Also, Totterdell (1994) found sleep and cheerfulness to be
associated. Thus, this theme explicates the psychological benefits of sleep.
The third theme that emerged was ​Ideal sleeping environment. ​This theme
emphasizes the environmental prerequisites for sound sleep. Environmental factors play an
important role in determining the quality of sleep. Students’ preference for sombre
environment for sleeping is evident from the verbatim of one of the participants- ​“Mujhe
bilkul shanti chahiye sone ke liye. Bulkul shanti, andhera hona chahiye varna mujhe neend
nahi aayegi.” and ​“I can’t sleep in like bahut zyada jaha shor ho raha hai, I can’t. I can’t
​ oth the verbatims highlight the
sleep agar light on ho toh, nahi ayegi mujhe neend.” B
importance of a dark and quiet environment for facilitation of sleep. Kryger, et al. (2000)
contended that environmental factors can adversely impact the sleep quality, often resulting
in interrupted sleep. Lighting and noise are considered as important environmental factors
influencing sleep. Improper lighting ( Kozaki, 2005) and noise (Basner, et al, 2011) tend to
negatively impact the sleep quality. Hence, it is evident from this theme that a sombre
environment facilitates sleep.
The fourth theme that emerged was ​Adequate sleep due to parental control & strict
school schedule. ​This theme emphasised on the disciplined schedule of school and the
environment provided by home for adequate sleep. All participants agreed to having a more
disciplined schedule and receiving adequate sleep while they were in school. One participant
reflected, ​“I lived with my parents. And they use to force me that you have to sleep from this
time to this time so now I can sleep whenever , I am away from home nobody is there to force
​ saoka et al. (2004) in their study attributed the change
me or restrict me”. A in the
sleep–wake pattern with grade progress to the change in the constraints by school schedules
as opposed to college schedules. Silva et al. (2003) mentions that the manifestations of poor
subjective sleep quality by higher education students are mainly related to the lack of routines
with regard to sleep or irregular sleep schedules, later meals, students’ nights out and
socializing among students residing with colleagues/friends. These are factors are reduced to
a great extent when living with one’s parents. One of the remarked, ​“Mei bhi ghar jati hu toh
11 bje sab chor deti hu par yahan par rehti hu toh mrko pata hai koi tokne vala nahi hai toh
toh I am like 2 bje tak 3 bje tak chlare hai”. ​Thus, further highlighting the effect of the
environment provided by home on sleep.
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
18
The fifth theme that emerged was the ​Factors causing inadequate sleep. ​This theme
focuses on college schedules, shared spaces and greater usage of mobile phones and laptops.
All participants agreed upon having adopted an undisciplined pattern as they started living
away from their families. One of the participants reflected, ​“Toh pg mei toh ye feeling hai ki
​ he students’ new social life fraught with a desire
chalo apna room hai kuch bhi kr skte hai”. T
to stay up late at night to engage in adultlike social activities, self-determined bed-times, and
easy access to a vast range of stimulating and arousing activities (Dahl & Lewin, 2002). Most
participants lived in shared accomodations and described this as a factor for inadequate sleep.
One of the participants reported, ​“We have a sharing room, so it’s very distracting. when
your roommate is talking on her phone late at night”. I​ n Lund et al. (2010) study, sharing a
bedroom with others and talking with friends were commonly cited as reasons for disrupted
sleep. Constant contact with peers often interferes with going to bed at a healthy bed-time
(Dahl & Lewin, 2002). The participants reported exams as hindrance to adequate sleep. One
of the participants reflected, ​“Exam ke pressure se. Exam time mei, mai bhi 3 se 4 ghanta hii
soti hu”. ​Galambos et al. (2009) found that students slept better (i.e., for a longer amount of
time or had higher quality sleep) on nights when they experienced more positive affect, spent
less time on academic work, did not expect a quiz or exam the next day. This further
demonstrates how academic pressure poses as a factor in deficient sleep. Another factor that
emerged was increased usage of mobile phones and laptops. A participant remarked,
“Watching T.V.,playing video games and using much of my time in social medias like
whatsapp or instagram”. I​ n Hersher & Chervin (2014) study, 67% of the sample reported
using their cell phone prior to sleeping at night, a behaviour which has been linked to
difficulty falling asleep, repeated awakenings at night, or early wake times. The circadian
clock is particularly sensitive to the blue-spectrum light which is associated with these
devices and has the phase-specific effect of delaying circadian rhythms, thus pushing sleep
timing later.
The sixth theme that emerged was ​Ill effects of inadequate sleep. ​This theme lays
emphasis on the physiological as well as psychological effects of sleep deficit as experienced
by the participants. One of the participants reflected, ​“Zyada irritation ho raha tha aur
​ here is a clear association between headache and sleep
headache toh itna zyada”. T
disturbances, especially headaches occurring during the night or early morning (Jennum &
Jensen, 2002). Recounting when she had pulled an all-nighter for submission of an
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
19
assignment, one of the participants reflected, ​“Itna irritation ho raha tha ki aisa lag raha tha
koi kuch bole aur mai maar du usse”. ​Millman (2005) described this as a negative spiral
wherein late-night and erratic schedules and early college start times can lead to sleep
deprivation, which in turn can erode mood and motivation. Difficulties with mood,
motivation, and academic performance create greater stress and affective problems. The
negative affective experiences further interfere with sleep and arousal regulation and
circadian effects and lead to difficulty falling asleep, more erratic schedules, and additional
deterioration across these systems. Participants also reported experiencing reduced energy
​ aldwin & Daugherty (2004) in
and one of them quoted,​“Mai na ekdum thak chuki thi”. B
their study found that sleep deficits were significantly related to greater fatigue. Thus,
irritation, fatigue and headache were some adverse effects of inadequate sleep as recognized
by the participants.
The last theme that emerged was ​Suggestions for improving sleep. ​It included
suggestions pertaining to the inculcation of physical activities in one’s schedule, reducing the
screen time, avoiding caffeinated drinks before bed time, creating a favourable environment
for sleep facilitation and preparing a proper and organized schedule. The positive effect of
physical exercise on sleep is evident from the verbatim of one of the participants-​“Pahle k
​
mutabik zada jaldi bina distraction k dhang se so paye jab maine physical activities kari.”. A
study by Kredlow, et al (2015) revealed that ​acute exercise reduces sleep disturbances and
have beneficial effects on the total sleep time and sleep onset latency. Moreover, positive
effects of ​regular ​exercise on sleep quality were also observed (Kredlow,et al, 2015). Thus,
engaging in physical activities can help the college students to improve their sleep quality.
Another suggestion was to reduce the screen time, which is evident from the verbatim-
“Avoid mobile phones as much as possible so I can sleep and be Fresh.” ​Cajochen et
al,(2005) asserted that visually stimulating activity like technology use before bed negatively
impacts the sleep quality. Further, night-time exposure to portable device lighting can disrupt
the circadian timing system (Cajochen et al., 2005). Hence, reducing one’s technology use
before bed can restore their quality of sleep. Furthermore, since caffeine consumption is
widely prevalent among college going students, it is said to have profound effects on sleep
and wake function (Roehrsa & Roth, 2008). One of the participants suggested that since
caffeinated drinks like tea and coffee keep them alert, thereby interfering with their sleep, the
consumption of such caffeinated drinks should be avoided before going to bed. This is
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
20
evident from their verbatim- ​“Having coffee keeps you awake.” a​ nd ​“I drink black tea and
phir neend ud jaati hai.”. Since environmental factors can adversely impact the sleep quality
(Kryger, et al, 2000), suggestions related to the techniques for creating an adequate sleeping
environment were also given. One of the participants suggested that ​“Best method to sound
sleep is like you should wear eye masks and the earbuds and like using complete darkness ”.
Therefore, engaging in physical activities, reducing the screen time, avoiding caffeinated
drinks before bed time and creating a favourable environment for sleep facilitation were some
of the suggestions given by the participants for enhancing their sleeping pattern.
The themes explained above successfully provide insight into the sleeping patterns of
college students, the causes for the same as well as the strategies for its resolution.
Conclusion
The study thus sheds light on the most common problem faced by college students
namely sleep inadequacy. The study explicates the perceived notions of the the participants
about their own sleeping patterns, the reasons for them, its consequences as well as strategies
for correcting this pattern. Decreased parental control and living in shared spaces emerged as
a prominent cause for disturbance of the sleep-wake cycle of college students. Moreover,
ineffective functioning, unstable affect and exhaustion turned out to be the most commonly
experienced ill effects of the disturbed sleeping pattern. Engaging in physical activities,
reducing the mobile phone and social media usage, avoiding caffeinated drinks before bed
time and creating a favourable environment for sleep facilitation were some of the major
strategies suggested by the participants for enhancing the quality of their sleep.
Implications, Limitations and Directions for future Research
This study has implications in development of cognitive and behavioural interventions
for self-regulation of sleep in students. The insights from this study can be used for designing
effective strategies for college students when transitioning from living at home to living
independently. The study, however, has several limitations. Firstly, the sample comprised
only female students which may have affected the results as even in literature women are
reported to have greater sleep disturbances than men. Secondly, the sample was very small
thus limiting the study’s generalizability. Thus, future research should make use of a larger
and a more heterogeneous sample. It can also look at the sleep disturbances in college
students living at home as this study focused only on those living away from their homes.
Future research can make use of quantitative tools for a more holistic understanding.
SLEEPING PATTERNS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
21
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