SLEEP 2011 Abstract Supplement

B. Clinical Sleep Science X. Normal Physiology of Sleep and Normal Variants
0752
EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE AND NIGHTTIME TECHNOLOGY
USE ON SLEEP QUALITY IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Ye L, Manasia M
Boston College School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
Introduction: Poor sleep quality has been consistently rated as a top
impediment to academic performance in college students. The purpose
of this study was to examine the effect of nighttime technology use such
Internet and cable television and caffeine intake on sleep quality in college
students.
Methods: College students were recruited by email messages and completed
an internet-based survey. Sleep quality was primarily examined
by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), including questions related
to subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual
sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime
dysfunction. This survey also included questions for technology
use after 9 pm on school nights, timing and number of caffeinated beverages
consumed per day, and self-reported GPA. Relationships among
these factors were examined via Pearson correlation, t-test, or Mann-
Whitney U, as appropriate.
Results: The majority of the participants (n=440) were female (66.4%),
non-Hispanic (90.9%) white (80.2%). Based on the cut-off point of 5
on the PSQI Global score, 75% were “poor” sleepers, and 66.3% selfidentified
as a “night owl”. After 9 pm on school nights, 54.1% of the
students watched television, 59.3% reported text messaging, 72.7%
were online with friends (AIM, Facebook, Myspace), 38% talked on the
phone, 14.8% played video games, 28.4% watched DVDs/video, and
44.3% listened to Ipod/MP3. On average, the students engaged in over
2 of these activities while doing schoolwork. Higher multitasking index
(total number of hours spent across all the activities) was correlated with
shorter school night sleep duration (r=-0.221, p