National study of sleep health for student servicemembers/veterans

J Am Coll Health. 2023 Nov 15:1-9. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2280778. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objective: Investigate sleep health for student servicemember/veterans (SSM/Vs). Method: Data from the National College Health Assessment was used, including 88,178 participants in 2018 and 67,972 in 2019. Propensity score matching was used to compare SSM/Vs (n = 2984) to their most similar non-SSM/V counterparts (n = 1,355). Responses were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: SSM/Vs reported significantly higher levels of some sleep health issues than the matched peer group, including more instances of trouble falling asleep, waking too early, and higher rates of insomnia and sleep disorders. However, SSM/Vs reported fewer days per week feeling sleepy and similar impacts of sleep issues on academics when compared to the peer group. Conclusion: Institutions of higher education should consider training faculty and staff to recognize impacts of poor sleep health for SSM/Vs to establish effective practices to support this unique population.

Keywords: College students’ sleep health; propensity score matching; student veteran sleep health; student veteran wellness.