Sleep problems are a common occurrence in college students. Insomnia, nightmares and impaired sleep quality lead to several mental health issues, as well as impaired academic performance. Although different sleep programmes exist, a systematic overview comparing their effectiveness is still missing. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of psychological interventions to improve sleep in college students. Seven databases were searched from November to December 2016 (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, PubMed, OpenSigle). The search string included search terms from three different topics: sleep, intervention and college students. Outcome measures included subjective as well as objective measures and focused on sleep, sleep-related and mental health variables. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. They were assigned to four intervention categories: (1) sleep hygiene, (2) cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), (3) relaxation, mindfulness and hypnotherapy and (4) other psychotherapeutic interventions. Fifteen studies were randomized controlled trials. While sleep hygiene interventions provided small to medium effects, the CBTs showed large effects. The variability of the effect sizes was especially large in the relaxation category, ranging from very small to very large effect sizes. Other psychotherapeutic interventions showed medium effects. CBT approaches provided the best effects for the improvement of different sleep variables in college students. Five studies included insomnia patients. The other three intervention categories also showed promising results with overall medium effects. In the future, CBT should be combined with relaxation techniques, mindfulness and hypnotherapy. Furthermore, the interventions should broaden their target group and include more sleep disorders.

IntroductionUp to 60% of all college students suffer from a poor sleep quality, and 7.7% meet all criteria of an insomnia disorder. Sleep problems have a great impact on the students’ daily life, for example, the grade point average. Due to irregular daytime routines, chronotype changes, side jobs and exam periods, they need specialized treatments for improving sleep. “Studieren wie im Schlaf” (SWIS; (studying in your sleep)) is a multicomponent sleep training that combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Hypnotherapy for Insomnia to improve students’ sleep, insomnia symptoms and nightmares. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the acceptance, feasibility and the first effects of SWIS.MethodsTwenty-seven students (mean =24.24, standard deviation =3.57) participated in a study of pre–post design. The acceptance and feasibility were measured with questionnaires. In addition, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep logs and actigraphy were implemented. Further variables encompassed daytime sleepiness, sleep-related personality traits and cognitions about sleep.ResultsSeventy-four percent of the participants reported symptoms of an insomnia disorder, and 51.9% fulfilled all criteria of an insomnia disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition). Correspondingly, the students suffered from clinically relevant sleep problems according to the PSQI. The SWIS sleep training is a well-accepted and feasible program. Significant improvements were observed in the subjective sleep quality and sleep-related personality traits, as well as clinical improvements in objective sleep measures.DiscussionFindings showed that SWIS is a feasible program for the treatment of sleep problems in college and university students due to its various effects on sleep and cognitive outcomes. Further evaluation of follow-up measurements and additional variables, that is, cognitive performance and mental health, is needed.

Impaired suppression of the renin-Ang II system appeared to act as a stimulus for myocardial hypertrophy in hypertensive patients.

Im Hinblick auf professionelle Entwicklungsprozesse von Lehramtsstudierenden beschäftigen sich aktuelle Forschungsarbeiten mit der Analyse personaler Studieneingangsvoraussetzungen und ihrer prognostischen Validität für verschiedene Erfolgsmaße. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde an einer Stichprobe von 227 Lehramtsstudierenden geprüft, inwiefern sich in Abhängigkeit der gewählten Fachkombinationen unterschiedliche Profile berufsbezogener Interessensstrukturen und kognitiver Leistungsfähigkeit sowie erfolgsrelevanter Aspekte (Studienzufriedenheit und Leistung im bildungswissenschaftlichen Grundstudium) abzeichnen. Zusätzlich wurden die Zusammenhänge zwischen den allgemeinen Studieneingangsvoraussetzungen und den Zufriedenheits- und Leistungskriterien innerhalb der unterschiedlichen Fachgruppen betrachtet. Lehramtsstudierende mit naturwissenschaftlichen Fachkombinationen zeigen im Gruppenvergleich ein ungünstigeres Interessens- und Zufriedenheitsprofil bei gleichzeitig vorteilhafteren kognitiven Eingangsvoraussetzungen. Während die Erfolgsmaße fachübergreifend mit der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit assoziiert sind, erweisen sich fachabhängig unterschiedliche Interessensstrukturen als prädiktiv für Aspekte der Studienzufriedenheit und der akademischen Leistung.

Objective: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is defined by an acute memory disturbance of unclear etiology for a period of <24 h. Several studies showed differences in vascular risk factors between TGA compared to transient ischemic attack (TIA) or healthy controls with varying results. This retrospective and cross-sectional study compares the cardiovascular risk profile of TGA patients with that of acute stroke patients.Methods: Cardiovascular risk profile and MR imaging of 277 TGA patients was retrospectively analyzed and compared to 216 acute ischemic stroke patients (26% TIA).Results: TGA patients were significantly younger and predominantly female compared to stroke patients. A total of 90.6% of TGA patients underwent MRI, and 53% of those showed hippocampal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions. Scores for cerebral microangiopathy were lower in TGA patients compared to stroke patients. After statistical correction for age, TGA patients had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, higher cholesterol levels, lower HbA1c, as well as blood glucose levels, and lower CHA2DS2-VASc scores. Stroke patients initially displayed higher CRP levels than TIA and TGA patients. TGA patients without DWI lesions were older and showed higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores compared to TGA patients with DWI lesions.Conclusion: This study revealed significant differences between TGA and stroke patients in regard to the cardiovascular risk profile. Our main findings show a strong association between acute hypertensive peaks and TGA in patients not adapted to chronic hypertension, indicating a vascular cause of the disease.