Abstract

Objective: Having enough and quality sleep is important factors in all age periods. It is known that changes in eating habits have an influence on sleep quality in young adults. This study intends to investigate the impact of eating habits on sleep quality in women aged between 19 and 24.

Methods: The study was carried out with 412 university students staying in dormitory. The questionnaire involved general information about students, their eating habits, sleep duration, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The data was evaluated with appropriate statistical methods.

Result: The mean age was 20.7±1.4 years and BMI was 21.8±3.4kg/m2. 52.9% of the individuals skipped one of the main meals, the most frequently skipped main meal was lunch (65.5%). The most common reason why the subjects skipped breakfast, lunch, or dinner was found to be reluctance. 39.6% of those who woke up at night consumed any food or drink. The mean PSQI total score of the individuals was 7.86±2.75. While the sleep quality of 20.6% of the participants was good, 79.4% had poor sleep quality. There was statistically significant difference between sleep quality and the number of main meals and eating at night wake-up (p<0.05). While a positively significant correlation was determined between the sleep quality of participants and their BMI (p=0.03;r=0.11), a negatively correlation no significant difference was found between sleep duration and BMI (p=0.09;r=-0.08).

Conclusion: A significant portion of the students attending university and staying in dormitory was found to have sleeping disorders. The eating habits of students should be improved, and educational programs should be implemented to ensure adequate and balanced nutrition.

Keywords: Sleep duration; Sleep quality; Women; BMI; Nutrition habits