Associations between sleep and lifestyle behaviours among Australian nursing students: A cross-sectional study
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Author(s)
Binks, H
Vincent, GE
Irwin, C
Heidke, P
Vandelanotte, C
Williams, SL
Khalesi, S
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
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Background: Nursing students are at risk of inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle behaviours due to academic, clinical and personal stressors faced throughout their training. However, the relationship between lifestyle and sleep in this population is not well understood.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether inadequate sleep was associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and smoking in Australian nursing students.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, nursing students (n = 470) completed an online questionnaire that assessed sleep and lifestyle behaviours. One-way ANOVA, t-tests, ...
View more >Background: Nursing students are at risk of inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle behaviours due to academic, clinical and personal stressors faced throughout their training. However, the relationship between lifestyle and sleep in this population is not well understood. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether inadequate sleep was associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and smoking in Australian nursing students. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, nursing students (n = 470) completed an online questionnaire that assessed sleep and lifestyle behaviours. One-way ANOVA, t-tests, Pearson's bivariate correlation and multiple regression testing were used to determine relationships between variables. Findings: Most nursing students experienced inadequate sleep (78%). Patterns of irregular eating, increased intake of discretionary foods, high-risk alcohol consumption and smoking were associated with indicators of inadequate sleep (p < 0.05). Frequent lunch intake (4–7 times per week) was associated with lower global sleep quality scores than irregular lunch intake (β: −1.060, 95% confidence interval −2.022, −0.099), whereas alcohol score was associated with higher global sleep quality scores (β: 0.088, 95% confidence interval 0.011, 0.165) indicating poorer quality sleep, even after adjusting for confounding variables. No significant associations were found between sleep parameters and level of physical activity. Conclusion: This study highlights that nursing students experience inadequate sleep, and that poor lifestyle behaviours were associated with inadequate sleep in this sample. Strategies are needed to address inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle behaviours in nursing students, to support health, academic and clinic performance, as well as the transition to professional nursing practice.
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View more >Background: Nursing students are at risk of inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle behaviours due to academic, clinical and personal stressors faced throughout their training. However, the relationship between lifestyle and sleep in this population is not well understood. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether inadequate sleep was associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and smoking in Australian nursing students. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, nursing students (n = 470) completed an online questionnaire that assessed sleep and lifestyle behaviours. One-way ANOVA, t-tests, Pearson's bivariate correlation and multiple regression testing were used to determine relationships between variables. Findings: Most nursing students experienced inadequate sleep (78%). Patterns of irregular eating, increased intake of discretionary foods, high-risk alcohol consumption and smoking were associated with indicators of inadequate sleep (p < 0.05). Frequent lunch intake (4–7 times per week) was associated with lower global sleep quality scores than irregular lunch intake (β: −1.060, 95% confidence interval −2.022, −0.099), whereas alcohol score was associated with higher global sleep quality scores (β: 0.088, 95% confidence interval 0.011, 0.165) indicating poorer quality sleep, even after adjusting for confounding variables. No significant associations were found between sleep parameters and level of physical activity. Conclusion: This study highlights that nursing students experience inadequate sleep, and that poor lifestyle behaviours were associated with inadequate sleep in this sample. Strategies are needed to address inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle behaviours in nursing students, to support health, academic and clinic performance, as well as the transition to professional nursing practice.
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Journal Title
Collegian
Copyright Statement
© YEAR Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
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This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.
Subject
Nursing
Public health nutrition
Nutrition and dietetics