Dados do Trabalho

Título

BEFORE AND AFTER AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION ON SLEEP HYGIENE IN POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Introdução

The accumulation of activities and poor daily habits among postgraduate students leads to a reduction in leisure and rest time, depriving them of sleep and contributing to excessive sleepiness, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immunological risks, as well as cognitive and mental health impairments. This highlights the importance of educational interventions on sleep hygiene to guide healthy habits and promote self-care.

Objetivo

To evaluate the sleep quality and sleep hygiene habits of postgraduate students before and after an educational intervention.

Métodos

The intervention was part of a quasi-experimental before-and-after study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee under CAEE 66359622.6.0000.5346, and conducted with postgraduate students from a federal university in Rio Grande do Sul. The intervention provided verbal and digital guidance on physiology and sleep hygiene habits through an online meeting via Google Meet. Afterwards, the participants were monitored for four weeks, with text messages sent to motivate and remind them about their habits. A sleep habits questionnaire developed by the author, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-BR), and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI-BR) were used to collect data before and after the intervention. The McNemar test was used for statistical analysis, with a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05).

Resultados

Forty students completed the study. After the intervention, there was an increase in the number of participants who extended their sleep hours, going from less than 7 hours to 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night (p = 0.049). There was also an increase in the number of individuals who adopted sleep hygiene habits (p < 0.001) and who perceived an improvement in their sleep (p = 0.016). Additionally, there was a reduction in the number of students who woke up feeling tired (p = 0.039). The sleep hygiene index showed a statistically significant improvement (p = 0.012), with an increase in the number of participants who demonstrated average/good sleep hygiene after the intervention. While there was a slight improvement in the overall quality of sleep of the participants, it did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusões

Positive effects on sleep and, particularly, on sleep hygiene habits were observed after the educational intervention, suggesting that such interventions are a viable means to guide and promote self-care.

Palavras -chave

Sleep; Sleep Hygiene; Postgraduate students; Nursing