Sleep Hygiene Practices and Its Impact on Mental Health and Functional Performance Among Adults in Tabuk City: A Cross-Sectional Study

Summary & key facts

Researchers surveyed 384 adults in Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia in 2022 to see whether everyday sleep habits were linked to sleep quality and mental health. People filled out a self-report questionnaire about their sleep habits, recent sleep problems, daytime sleepiness, and depressive symptoms. The data showed that people with poorer sleep habits were more likely to report recent sleep problems, higher daytime sleepiness, and more signs of depression. The study found a clear link in the data, but it cannot prove that bad sleep habits cause these problems because it measured people only once and relied on self-reports. The authors say the findings could help plan public awareness about sleep habits.

Key facts:

• The study included 384 adults living in Tabuk city who completed a self-report questionnaire in 2022.
• About 77% of people with poor sleep habits reported sleep problems in the past three months, compared with about 56% of people with better sleep habits.
• Around 23% of the poor-hygiene group had excessive daytime sleepiness, compared with about 12% in the good-hygiene group. Severe daytime sleepiness was about 5% versus about 1%.
• About 76% of people with poor sleep habits showed signs of depression, compared with about 60% of people with better sleep habits.
• The associations reported were statistically strong in this sample, but the study cannot show cause and effect because it used a single time-point survey and self-reported measures.
• The researchers used a questionnaire they developed to measure sleep hygiene, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and depressive symptoms, and they excluded anyone with incomplete answers.

Abstract

Background Poor or imperfect sleep hygiene practices include all factors that promote arousal or disrupt the normal balance of the sleep-wake cycle. It is necessary to clarify the relationship between sleep hygiene behaviors and a person's mental health. This may allow a better understanding of this problem and might help design effective awareness programs about good sleep hygiene practices for reducing the serious outcomes of this problem. Therefore, the current study was conducted to evaluate sleep hygiene practices and assess the impact of sleep hygiene on sleep quality and the mental health of the adult population of Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia. Methodology This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia in 2022. All adult residents of Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia were invited to participate. Participants with incomplete data were excluded from the study. A self-administered questionnaire was developed by the researchers to assess sleep hygiene practices and their impact on the sleep quality and mental health of the study participants. Results The study included 384 adults. There was a significant association between the frequency of sleep problems and poor sleep hygiene practices (p < 0.001). The percentage of subjects who had problems sleeping during the past three months was significantly higher among those having poor sleep hygiene practices (76.5%) than their counterparts (56.1%). The rates of excessive or severe daytime sleepiness were significantly higher among individuals with poor hygiene practices (22.5% versus 11.7% and 5.2% versus 1.2%, p = 0.001). Participants with depression were found to be significantly higher among the poor hygiene group (75.8%) in comparison to those having good hygiene practices (59.6%) (p = 0.001). Conclusions The findings of the present study indicate significant associations between poor sleep hygiene practices and sleep problems, daytime sleepiness, and depression among adult residents of Tabuk city, Saudi Arabia.

Topics

Health and Wellbeing Research Sleep and related disorders Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue

Categories

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Computer science Cross-sectional study Environmental health Gerontology Hygiene Insomnia Medicine Mental health Operating system Pathology Population Psychiatry Sleep (system call) Sleep hygiene Sleep quality

Conditions & symptoms

Depression Sleep disorder Lack of energy or motivation Poor sleep Sadness or low mood