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1115 PROJECT SLEEP: AN ONLINE MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE COLLEGE STUDENTS’ SLEEP HEALTH

Abstract Introduction: Improving sleep health of college students may help prevent the development of insomnia and subsequent mental health disorders. Project Sleep was a 4-week online intervention study designed to examine whether an abbreviated mindful breathing intervention, versus abbreviated pr...

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Published in:Sleep (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2017-04, Vol.40 (suppl_1), p.A415-A416
Main Authors: Jarrett, NL, Warnke, AS, Pickett, SM
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Abstract Introduction: Improving sleep health of college students may help prevent the development of insomnia and subsequent mental health disorders. Project Sleep was a 4-week online intervention study designed to examine whether an abbreviated mindful breathing intervention, versus abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation or self-monitoring, would result in greater reductions in stress and improvements in sleep health. Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 120 students from a large Midwestern university. Participants who completed the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were included in the analyses (n=111; 92.5%). Participants were randomized into a mindful breathing (MB), an abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation (APMR), or a self-monitoring (SM) group. Participants were asked to complete the interventions daily for 4-weeks using an online delivery system. In person assessments of sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, stress, and pre-sleep arousal were assessed using validated self-report questionnaires pre- and post- intervention. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVAs were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the interventions. Results revealed a marginal group X time interaction effect for stress (F = 2.897, p = .059). There was a main effect of time for pre-sleep somatic arousal (F = 7.498, p = .007), while there was a group X time interaction for pre-sleep cognitive arousal (F = 4.518, p = .013). There was a marginal group X time interaction for insomnia symptoms (F = 2.969, p = .055) and a main effect of time for sleep quality (F = 13.772, p < .001). Lastly, changes in stress and pre-sleep cognitive arousal were related to changes in insomnia symptoms (r = -.225, p = .054; -.244, p = .009, respectively). Conclusion: The findings suggest pre-sleep somatic arousal and sleep quality improved regardless of group membership. Further, mindful breathing and abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation resulted in (marginal) reductions in stress and cognitive pre-sleep arousal, which were related to improvements in insomnia symptoms. Overall, abbreviated strategies targeting stress and arousal, such as mindful breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, delivered online may be beneficial for college students’ reduced stress and subsequent sleep health. Support (If Any):
ISSN:0161-8105
1550-9109
DOI:10.1093/sleepj/zsx050.1114