Comparative Analysis of Sleep Patterns : Commuters Versus On-Campus UBC Students
Creators: name: Do, Caroline
name: Sheldan, Melissa Hamilton
name: Parmar, Sienna
name: Strbac, Igor
name: Wruck, Elle
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2024

description: Sleep plays a crucial role in undergraduate students' academic performance, overall well-being, and quality of life (Schlarb et al., 2017). Understanding the factors influencing sleep patterns and barriers to sleep is essential for developing targeted interventions to enhance sleep quality and promote student success. This study focused on exploring sleep patterns and barriers among current UBC undergraduate students, with a focus on comparing commuters versus on-campus residents. The primary objective of this research is to investigate sleep patterns and barriers among UBC undergraduate students to identify areas for improvement and develop targeted interventions to enhance sleep quality and overall well-being. By understanding the unique challenges faced by commuters and on-campus residents, this study aims to provide valuable insights into the factors influencing sleep quality and barriers among UBC undergraduate students. The inclusion criteria for our study involved all commuters and on-campus residents from any faculty and year of undergraduate study. We utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative questions to gather comprehensive self-reported data on sleep patterns, barriers, and related factors among UBC undergraduate students. Data was collected using a Qualtrics survey over a three week period from March 13 to April 3, 2024. The survey was distributed through word of mouth and various social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. Our findings suggest stress is a key barrier influencing undergraduate UBC students’ ability to sleep. Other factors influencing sleep quality patterns include technology/screen time, mental health and school/work/commute pressures. On average, UBC undergraduate students sleep 6 hours and 40 minutes. For sleep quality, close to 45% of UBC undergraduate students either report having fairly bad or very bad quality of sleep. On average there were minimal differences found between students living on campus and commuters. It is important to note that all students who reported having very bad sleep quality were commuters. Based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed to provide better sleep resources for the UBC campus community. These include implementing sleep education programs, expanding wellness initiatives, and offering free or low-cost exercise classes and beginner physical activity options. To conclude, this study highlights the importance of addressing sleep patterns and barriers among UBC undergraduate students to promote academic success and overall well-being. By understanding the connectivity of factors influencing sleep health, physical activity promotion initiatives could be developed as target interventions to support enhancing students’ quality of sleep and fostering a healthier campus environment. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”