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Sleep Competing Activities And Sleep Problems In Minority College Students, Timothy Billings, Linda Berg-Cross

Department of Psychology Faculty Publications

This study addressed health disparities in sleep duration, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness among African-American college students. To investigate evening behaviors promoting insufficient and inadequate sleep, we assessed electronic (e.g., computer and music) and nonelectronic (e.g., socializing) sleep competing activities (SCA). Students (N = 154) were recruited from a Historically Black College (HBCU). The results showed more dysfunction than has previously been reported in college populations, with HBCU students reporting very short sleep durations, high levels of daytime sleepiness, and poor sleep quality. These students engaged in many activities during the evening, and these activities predicted unhealthy sleep. Whereas electronic …