This systematic review explored the outcomes of current interventions to increase sleep duration in healthy young people (14–25 years). Nine databases were systematically searched, and 26 studies ...were included in this review. Quality assessment of the included studies was evaluated using two tools: the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and Cochrane Risk of Bias. The interventions incorporated a range of strategies including behavioral (46.2%), educational (26.9%), a combination of behavioral and educational (15.4%), and other strategies such as physical therapy (11.5%). The findings indicate that behavioral and combination interventions were consistently effective in increasing sleep duration in healthy young people. Educational interventions alone were less effective at increasing young people's sleep duration. Of all the included studies, only one randomized control trial but none of the non-randomized trials were rated as good quality. Our findings suggest a combination of strategies with an emphasis on personalization of intervention could possibly maximize the chances of success at improving sleep duration in healthy young people. More high-quality studies with long-term assessments (≥ 6 months) should be conducted to test the efficacy and durability of interventions to increase sleep duration in young people, as well as the clinical implications to mental and physical health.
Abstract Purpose Young adults regularly experience restricted sleep due to a range of social, educational, and vocational commitments. Evidence suggests that extended periods of sleep deprivation ...negatively impact affective and inhibitory control mechanisms leading to behavioral consequences such as increased emotional reactivity and impulsive behavior. It is less clear whether acute periods of restricted sleep produce the same behavioral consequences. Methods Nineteen young adults (m = 8 and f = 12) with habitual late bedtime (after 22:30 h) and wake time (after 06:30 h) completed a range of objective and subjective measures assessing sleepiness (psychomotor vigilance task and Karolinska sleepiness scale), inhibitory control (emotional go/no-go task and a balloon analog risk task), and affect (positive and negative affective schedule). Testing was counterbalanced across participants and occurred on two occasions once following restricted sleep and once following habitual sleep 1 week apart. Results Compared with habitual sleep, sleep restriction produced significantly slower performance on the psychomotor vigilance task and higher subjective ratings of sleepiness on the Karolinska sleepiness scale. Sleep restriction also caused a significant decrease in positive affect but no change in negative affect on the affective schedule. Inhibitory control efficiency was significantly differentiated, with participants showing an increase in risk taking on the balloon analog risk task, but there was no evidence of increased reactivity to negative stimuli on the emotional go/no-go task. Conclusions Results suggest that even acute periods of sleep loss may cause deficits in affective experiences and increase impulsive and potentially high-risk behavior in young adults.
Background
Poor sleep can contribute to poorer health and socioemotional outcomes. Sleep health can be influenced by a range of individual and other socioecological factors. Perceptions of ...neighborhood physical and social characteristics reflect broader social-level factors that may influence sleep, which have not been well studied in the Australian context. This study examined the association between perceived neighborhood characteristics and sleep in a large sample of Australians.
Methods
Data were from 9,792 people aged 16 years or older, from Waves 16 and 17 of the nationally representative Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. Associations between perceived neighborhood characteristics (neighborly interaction and support, environmental noise, physical condition, and insecurity) and self-reported sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and napping were examined using multiple logistic regression models.
Results
“Neighborhood interaction and support” and “neighborhood physical condition” were not significantly associated with any sleep outcomes after adjusting for relevant covariates. However, “environmental noise” and “neighborhood insecurity” remained significantly associated with sleep duration and sleep disturbance. None of the neighborhood characteristics were associated with napping. Furthermore, associations did not significantly vary by gender.
Conclusions
This study highlights the potential benefit of public health policies to address noise and safety in neighborhoods to improve sleep.
This systematic review aims to identify, evaluate, and summarise the consequences of precarious employment.
We included studies published within the last ten years (Jan 2011-July 2021) that employed ...at least two of three key dimensions of precarious employment: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and lack of rights and protection.
Of the 4,947 initially identified studies, only five studies met our eligibility criteria. These five studies were of moderate quality as assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Our review found that the current literature predominantly defines precarity based on the single criterion of employment insecurity. Our review identified evidence for the negative consequences of precarious employment, including poorer workplace wellbeing, general health, mental health, and emotional wellbeing. The findings indicated an increase in the magnitude of these adverse outcomes with a higher degree of job precariousness.
The rise of employment precariousness will likely continue to be a major issue in the coming years. More research is needed to inform effective policies and practices using a consensus definition of precarious employment.
The presence of adverse effects of precarious employment suggests workplace initiatives are essential to mitigate the negative consequences of precarity.
BackgroundCurrent evidence suggests that precarious employment is a risk factor for poor mental health. Although the mechanisms underpinning this relationship are unclear, poor sleep has been ...proposed to have a role in this relationship. This study explored the mediating effects of poor sleep quality and duration on the relationship between precarious employment and mental health.MethodsData were obtained from wave 17 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. A novel precarious employment score (PES) was developed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in 8127 workers (4195 female, aged 18-65). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate the mediating effect of sleep quality and duration on the relationship between precarious employment and mental health (SF-36 mental health subscale).ResultsThe PES identified 650 workers with a high level of precariousness, 2417 with a moderate level of precariousness, and 5060 workers with a low level of precariousness out of 8127 in total. There was a significant direct association between precarious employment and mental health; with higher precarity increasing the likelihood of poor mental health. The SEM results revealed that sleep quality partially mediated the association between precarious employment and mental health (Coefficient = 0.025, 95 % CI 0.015, 0.034, P ≤ 0.001). However, a mediation effect was not found for sleep duration.ConclusionEncouraging precarious employees to improve sleep quality may mitigate the adverse effects of precarious work on their mental health. Further objective measurement of sleep duration warrants a more accurate insight into this mediating effect in this group.
Road trauma is a leading cause of death and disability for young Australians (15–24 years). Young adults are overrepresented in crashes due to sleepiness, with two-thirds of their fatal crashes ...attributed to sleepy driving. This trial aims to examine the effectiveness of a sleep extension and education program for improved road safety in young adults.
Young adults aged 18–24 years (n = 210) will be recruited for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial employing a placebo-controlled, parallel-groups design. The intervention group will undergo sleep extension and receive education on sleep, whereas the placebo control group will be provided with information about diet and nutrition. The primary outcomes of habitual sleep and on-road driving performance will be assessed via actigraphy and in-vehicle accelerometery. A range of secondary outcomes including driving behaviours (driving simulator), sleep (diaries and questionnaire) and socio-emotional measures will be assessed.
Sleep is a modifiable factor that may reduce the risk of sleepiness-related crashes. Modifying sleep behaviour could potentially help to reduce the risk of young driver sleepiness-related crashes. This randomised control trial will objectively assess the efficacy of implementing sleep behaviour manipulation and education on reducing crash risk in young adult drivers.
•Liking for fatty food was positively associated with respiratory events during sleep.•Disliking non-fat food was negatively associated with respiratory events during sleep.•Patients’ dietary choices ...and beliefs concerning weight loss did not correspond.
Excess weight and obesity are factors that are strongly associated with risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). Weight loss has been associated with improvements in clinical indicators of OSA severity; however, patients’ beliefs about diet change have not been investigated. This study utilized a validated behaviour change model to estimate the relationship between food liking, food intake and indices of OSA severity. Two-hundred and six OSA patients recruited from a Sleep Disorders Clinic completed standardized questionnaires of: a) fat and fibre food intake, food liking, and food knowledge and; b) attitudes and intentions towards fat reduction. OSA severity and body mass index (BMI) were objectively measured using standard clinical guidelines. The relationship between liking for high fat food and OSA severity was tested with hierarchical regression. Gender and BMI explained a significant 20% of the variance in OSA severity, Fibre Liking accounted for an additional 6% (a negative relationship), and Fat Liking accounted for a further 3.6% of variance. Although the majority of individuals (47%) were currently “active” in reducing fat intake, overall the patients’ dietary beliefs and behaviours did not correspond. The independent relationship between OSA severity and liking for high fat foods (and disliking of high fibre foods) may be consistent with a two-way interaction between sleep disruption and food choice. Whilst the majority of OSA patients were intentionally active in changing to a healthy diet, further emphasis on improving healthy eating practices and beliefs in this population is necessary.
Introduction:
COVID-19 and related travel and social restrictions caused significant stress for university students in Australia and globally. Learning quickly moved online and many students ...(particularly international students) were separated from social and economic support. This study examined the impact of the pandemic from pre-pandemic (2019) to the COVID-19 Omicron wave (2022) on domestic and international students’ mental health.
Methods:
Participants were 1540 students (72% females, 28% international) in four first-year cohorts (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). We screened for mental health concerns (% positive) and symptom scores for depression, anxiety and somatic distress using the PsyCheck, and general wellbeing using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale.
Results:
From pre-COVID (2019) to the first wave of COVID-19 (2020), the proportion of students screening positive for mental health problems rose in both domestic students (66–76%) and international students (46–67%). Depression symptoms and wellbeing were worse in 2020 than in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Anxiety symptoms increased from 2019 to 2020 and continued to rise in 2021 and 2022. Somatic symptoms did not show an effect of cohort. Contrary to expectations, domestic students reported higher distress and lower wellbeing than international students across cohorts.
Conclusion:
The pandemic was associated with a marked increase in psychological distress in first-year university students, not all of which settled with the easing of restrictions. Post-pandemic recovery in the Australian university sector must include university-wide access to mental health information and support for incoming students.
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