Date of Award

Summer 2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

First Advisor

Walter Buboltz

Abstract

Research shows that college students have extensive rates of sleep struggles, with up to 89% of college students reporting that they have moderate to severe difficulties with sleep (Buboltz, Brown, & Soper, 2001). Insufficient sleep has been linked to problems with academics (Kelly, Kelly, & Clanton, 2001; Taylor, Vatthauer, Bramoweth, Ruggero, & Roane, 2013), mental health (Ghumman & Barnes, 2013; Home, 1993; Manber & Chambers, 2009), physical health (Dahl & Lewin, 2002; Gailliot et al., 2007; Lyytikainen, Rahkonen, Lahelma, & Lallukka, 2011; Van Cauter, Leproult, & Plat, 2000), and a variety of other problems. Results pertaining to the suggested and successful treatment of sleep difficulties are unreliable (Brown et al., 2006; Calvert, 2012). Also, reliability of self-report data is questionable, which can lead to inconsistent outcomes (Forquer, Camden, Gabriau, & Johnson, 2008). Thus the purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a psychoeducational sleep intervention compared to a control group. The second purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between subjective and objective sleep data. A total of 87 participants attended all three phases of the study and completed pre and post measures assessing sleep quality, sleep hygiene knowledge and practices, insomnia symptoms, fatigue, and anxiety about sleep. Participants' subjective and objective sleep was also assessed. Results indicated no significant difference in sleep quality or sleep length between intervention with participants' group. Interestingly, although the intervention significantly increased sleep hygiene knowledge in the treatment group, acquisition of information did not translate into increased sleep hygiene behaviors. Additionally, results indicated that there were not significant differences between participants subjective and objective sleep data. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

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