Assessment of Nutritional Status and Sleep Quality of University Students

Abstract

Objective: In the study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of nutrition status of university students on sleepiness and sleep quality. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted between January and April 2017 with 920 students who were studying at three different faculties of a university in Istanbul and were willing to participate in the study. A questionnaire that assessed the students' socio-demographic data, nutritional status, symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS), the Epworth Sleepiness scale (ESS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index (PSQI) were used in the study. Results: In the study 66.6\% of the students were female, 33.4\% were male and the average age was 22.66 +/- 4.86. The students with higher food consumption such as bread, pasta and rice were found to have higher PSQI and ESS scores and a significant difference was found between them (p<0.05). The study found that the total score of the students' PSQI scale was 7.28 +/- 3.56 and the majority of students (88.5\%) had poor sleep quality. Nevertheless, when the students ESS scores were assessed, it was determined that there was not OSAS risk in the majority (79.9\%) of the students. A weak relationship was found between the PSQI and total score of the ESS in the positive direction; also as long as sleep quality deteriorated the daytime sleepiness was determined increased. Conclusion: University students generally have poor sleep quality, but no risk for OSAS which can be said that the consumption of excess grain food reduces sleep quality and causes daytime sleepiness.