Insufficient Sleep and Poor Sleep Quality Completely Mediate the Relationship between Financial Stress and Dietary Risk among Higher Education Students

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic worsened financial stress for higher education students in the U.S. Financial stress is associated with poor dietary behaviors; however, factors that might influence this relationship are not well characterized. The present cross-sectional study investigated the associations between financial stress and dietary intake and dietary risk scores among higher education students (undergraduate and graduate students) in the U.S. and examined whether poor sleep quality and short sleep duration mediated the relationship between financial stress and dietary risk score. Validated tools were used to assess financial stress, sleep quality, sleep duration, dietary intake, and dietary risk. A total of 1280 students from three large U.S. universities completed the study. Results indicated that higher financial stress was associated with lower vegetable, fruit, fiber, and calcium intake, higher added sugar intake from sugar sweetened beverages, and higher dietary risk score. Further, the positive relationship between financial stress and dietary risk score was completely mediated by poor sleep quality among students who reported poor sleep quality and by short sleep duration among students who slept less than 7 h per night. These findings suggest that students might benefit from both financial management training and sleep education services to reduce undesirable dietary behaviors.

Limited negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health measures of Ghanaian university students

“…Ghanaian students reported financial stress scores of 15.6 ± 4.9. A recent study of higher education students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic reported financial stress scores of 17.4 ± 5.9 ( Du et al, 2021a ), or roughly 10% higher. A previous study that conducted focus group discussions about academic stress with Ghanaian undergraduate students noted that many reported financial concerns were a significant source of stress ( Adom and Adu Mensah, 2020 ).…”

Beslenme Ve Diyetetik Bölümü Öğrencilerinde Uyku Kalitesi, Fiziksel Aktivite, Diyet Kalitesi, Gece Yeme Alışkanlığı Ve Beden Kütle İndeksi İlişkisinin Değerlendirilmesine Yönelik Kesitsel Bir Çalışma

“…Du ve arkadaşları [96] tarafından yapılan bir araştırmada, yüksek öğrenim gören öğrencilerin günlük meyve tüketim miktarları ile PSQI puanı arasında zıt yönlü ilişki olduğu saptanmıştır. Puan ne kadar yüksek ise uyku kalitesi o kadar bozulmaktadır Bu sonuç, günlük meyve tüketim miktarı artışı ile uyku kalitesinin iyileştiğini göstermektedir.…”

How relative deprivation affects the sleep quality of Chinese college students: testing an integrated model of social anxiety and trait mindfulness

“…Poor sleep quality is a crucial public health problem that increases the risk of premature morbidity and mortality ( Stranges et al, 2012 ). Specifically, poor sleep quality can cause a variety of undesirable consequences such as poor academic performance ( Maheshwari and Shaukat, 2019 ), dietary risk ( Du et al, 2021 ), suicidal ideation ( Littlewood et al, 2019 ), and other mental health problems ( Kim et al, 2021 ). Therefore, it is important to identify and characterize the factors that modulate sleep quality and quantity among college students.…”