Online Sleep Education for College Student's Sleep Health and Executive Functioning
The Role of Sleep Education in Improving Sleep Quality, Executive Functioning, and Sleep Health Literacy
- Registry ID
- NCT07765849
- Source registry
- NCT
- Status
- NOT_YET_RECRUITING
- Phase
- NA
- Study type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Sponsor
- Northern Arizona University
- Enrollment
- 300
- Start date
- 2026-09-01
- Completion date
- 2027-05-01
- Last update
- 2026-08-14
Conditions
- Sleep Hygiene
- Executive Functioning
- Health Literacy
- Sleep
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if asynchronous psychoeducational sleep intervention works to improve college students' levels of self-reported sleep health literacy, sleep quality, and executive functioning.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Can an educational sleep intervention improve college students' sleep health literacy and sleep quality? Does improved sleep health literacy impact sleep quality? Does improved sleep improve executive functioning in a college student sample?
The hypotheses of the present study include the following:
* College students with poor sleep quality will have lower executive functioning
* College students who participate in a brief educational sleep intervention will have more improvements in sleep health literacy compared to college students who do not
* College students who participate in a brief educational sleep intervention will have more improvements in sleep quality compared to college students who do not
* College students who participate in a brief educational sleep intervention will have more improvements in executive functioning compared to college students who do not.
Researchers will compare the intervention group to a wait-list control group to see if college students who watch the psychoeducational sleep intervention have more improvements in sleep quality, sleep health literacy, and executive functioning than those who do not.
Participants will:
* Complete a pre-intervention survey
* Respond to a post-intervention survey six weeks after the pre-intervention survey
* Be randomly assigned to watch a 30-to 45-minute psychoeducational sleep lecture video either during the pre-intervention survey or after the post-intervention survey
Interventions
- BEHAVIORAL: Psychoeducational Sleep Intervention
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
* Be at least 18 years old
* Be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student in a U.S. college or university
* Have English language proficiency
* Have internet access
* Have an electronic device to complete an online survey
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion Criteria:
* Having a diagnosed sleep-wake disorder
* Having a history of treatment for sleep difficulties
Primary outcomes
[{"measure":"Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index","timeFrame":"This will be administered at enrollment (pre-intervention), and again in 6-weeks (post-intervention)"},{"measure":"Barkely Deficits in Executive Functioning-Short Form","timeFrame":"This will be administered at enrollment (pre-intervention), and again in 6-weeks (post-intervention)"},{"measure":"Sleep Health Literacy Scale","timeFrame":"This will be administered at enrollment (pre-intervention), and again in 6-weeks (post-intervention)"}]
Publications
- Gellis LA, Lichstein KL. Sleep hygiene practices of good and poor sleepers in the United States: an internet-based study. Behav Ther. 2009 Mar;40(1):1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2008.02.001. Epub 2008 Jul 14.
- Brown, F. C., & Buboltz, W. C., Jr. (2002). Applying sleep research to university students: Recommendations for developing a student sleep education program. Journal of College Student Development, 43(3), 411-416.
- Hershner SD, Chervin RD. Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nat Sci Sleep. 2014 Jun 23;6:73-84. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S62907. eCollection 2014.
- Hackney JE, Weaver TE, Pack AI. Health literacy and sleep disorders: a review. Sleep Med Rev. 2008 Apr;12(2):143-51. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2007.07.002. Epub 2008 Jan 25.
- Becerra MB, Bol BS, Granados R, Hassija C. Sleepless in school: The role of social determinants of sleep health among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2020 Feb-Mar;68(2):185-191. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2018.1538148. Epub 2018 Nov 29.
- Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, Bliwise DL, Buxton OM, Buysse D, Dinges DF, Gangwisch J, Grandner MA, Kushida C, Malhotra RK, Martin JL, Patel SR, Quan SF, Tasali E. Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep. 2015 Jun 1;38(6):843-4. doi: 10.5665/sleep.4716.
- Brown FC, Buboltz WC Jr, Soper B. Development and evaluation of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS). J Am Coll Health. 2006 Jan-Feb;54(4):231-7. doi: 10.3200/JACH.54.4.231-237.
- Barkley, R. A. (2011). Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning (BDEFS for Adults). Guilford Publications.
- Billings ME, Cohen RT, Baldwin CM, Johnson DA, Palen BN, Parthasarathy S, Patel SR, Russell M, Tapia IE, Williamson AA, Sharma S. Disparities in Sleep Health and Potential Intervention Models: A Focused Review. Chest. 2021 Mar;159(3):1232-1240. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.09.249. Epub 2020 Sep 30.
- Parrilla MM, Kautiainen RJ, King TZ. Sleep quality and executive function in a diverse sample of healthy young adults. Appl Neuropsychol Adult. 2025 Nov-Dec;32(6):1634-1642. doi: 10.1080/23279095.2023.2297299. Epub 2024 Jan 3.
- American College Health Association. (2018). American College Health Association- National College Health Assessment II: Undergraduate Student Reference Group Data Report Spring 2018 [Report].
- Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.
- Ohayon M, Wickwire EM, Hirshkowitz M, Albert SM, Avidan A, Daly FJ, Dauvilliers Y, Ferri R, Fung C, Gozal D, Hazen N, Krystal A, Lichstein K, Mallampalli M, Plazzi G, Rawding R, Scheer FA, Somers V, Vitiello MV. National Sleep Foundation's sleep quality recommendations: first report. Sleep Health. 2017 Feb;3(1):6-19. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2016.11.006. Epub 2016 Dec 23.
- American College Health Association. (2024). American College Health Association- National College Health Assessment II: Undergraduate Student Reference Group Data Report Spring 2024 [Report].
- Nelson KL, Davis JE, Corbett CF. Sleep quality: An evolutionary concept analysis. Nurs Forum. 2022 Jan;57(1):144-151. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12659. Epub 2021 Oct 5.
- Brown FC, Buboltz WC Jr, Soper B. Relationship of sleep hygiene awareness, sleep hygiene practices, and sleep quality in university students. Behav Med. 2002 Spring;28(1):33-8. doi: 10.1080/08964280209596396.
- Troynikov O, Watson CG, Nawaz N. Sleep environments and sleep physiology: A review. J Therm Biol. 2018 Dec;78:192-203. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.09.012. Epub 2018 Oct 5.
- Feldman EL, Slavish DC. Initial development of a sleep health literacy scale. Sleep Health. 2024 Dec;10(6):683-690. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2024.08.001. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
- Pantesco EJ, Kan IP. False beliefs about sleep and their associations with sleep-related behavior. Sleep Health. 2022 Apr;8(2):216-224. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2021.10.004. Epub 2021 Nov 26.
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