Quality sleep is paramount for the mental and physical health of university students and for their academic success. Stress was found to be a precipitator and a maintaining factor of poor sleep....Show moreQuality sleep is paramount for the mental and physical health of university students and for their academic success. Stress was found to be a precipitator and a maintaining factor of poor sleep. Moreover, vulnerabilities in the student population may maintain and/or exacerbate a possible association between stress and sleep quality; one of which is the development or the existence of poor coping strategies to deal with stress, such as a propensity to engage in perseverative negative cognitions (PNCs). This study examined whether an increase in academic stress was related to a decrease in the sleep quality of university students. Additionally, moderation by two different PNCs (i.e., excessive worry and rumination) were expected, with high levels of PNCs associated with an exacerbation of the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality. Lastly, the unique contribution of the two PNCs to the moderation effect was explored. Cross-sectional data from 49 university students were obtained using a series of questionnaires (Mage = 19.6 years, female = 95.9%). A simple regression analysis failed to indicate that an increase in academic stress predicts a decrease in sleep quality (p = .30). In addition, a hierarchical multiple regression failed to establish that PNCs moderate the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality (p = .18), suggesting that high levels of PNCs may not be associated with an exacerbation of the relationship. Furthermore, this study did not find evidence for the individual contribution of both types of PNCs to the moderation effect of PNCs in the association between academic stress and sleep quality (p = .28 for worry as a moderator; p = .47 for rumination as a moderator). These findings inform that academic stress might not share the same link with sleep difficulties as other types of stress have demonstrated. Furthermore, there is the possibility of additional concomitant difficulties (i.e., depression and anxiety) being relevant for the associations investigated, either as subsequent outcomes or as determinants of these associations. These findings provide a basis for future research on possible resistances experienced by this population and inform interventions that could help ameliorate sleep quality in university students.Show less
Previous research suggests an association between attentional control and rumination, supported by the impaired disengagement hypothesis. According to the impaired disengagement hypothesis,...Show morePrevious research suggests an association between attentional control and rumination, supported by the impaired disengagement hypothesis. According to the impaired disengagement hypothesis, individuals with low attentional control are more likely to experience increased rumination due to difficulties in disengaging from negative thoughts. A relationship between rumination and poor sleep quality has also been previously investigated and the findings are in line with the concept of perseverative cognition. As illustrated by the concept of perseverative cognition, rumination has been associated with poor sleep quality because the cognitive arousal that accompanies rumination may lead to physiological arousal resulting in unsuitable conditions for quality sleep. However, the potential mediating role of rumination in the relationship between attentional control and sleep quality has not yet been fully elucidated. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate whether rumination significantly mediates the relationship between attentional control and sleep quality. I expected increased rumination to mediate the relationship between low attentional control and poor subjective sleep quality. 69 healthy university students completed questionnaires including measures of attentional control, rumination, and sleep quality. A mediation analysis and a bootstrap was employed to test the significance of the indirect effects. Results showed that rumination fully mediated that effects of attentional control on sleep quality. A bootstrap analysis confirmed the significance of the mediation model. Targeting attentional control and rumination may prove beneficial in treatments for poor sleep quality. Interventions such as mindfulness-based therapy have been successful in reducing rumination, whereas attentional training technique has shown promising results in improving attentional control.Show less
Benefits of sleep (e.g., mental health) and detrimental effects of sleep-loss (e.g., impaired academic performance) have been extensively researched and implications are broad. A considerable...Show moreBenefits of sleep (e.g., mental health) and detrimental effects of sleep-loss (e.g., impaired academic performance) have been extensively researched and implications are broad. A considerable amount of research on the relations between perfectionism and sleep exists, where perfectionism negatively affects sleep quality. Mediators, primarily anxiety, affecting sleep quality have been investigated as well. However, within the bounds of conducted literature search, research with a mediatory model of maladaptive repetitive thinking (MRT) on perfectionism and sleep quality in a student population seems to require further exploration. Therefore, current work investigated whether MRT (i.e., worry and rumination) mediates the relationship between perfectionism and sleep quality. Data was analyzed from an overarching main study which, through convenience sampling, recruited 69 healthy university students who filled in online questionnaires (e.g., assessing rumination and sleep quality). In line with previous research, results showed that increased perfectionism was related to worse sleep quality and increased maladaptive repetitive thinking. Furthermore, increases in maladaptive repetitive thinking was related to worse sleep quality. However, the proposed mediation was found to be nonsignificant. Several limitations were at play (e.g., self-report measurements), thus it is recommended to replicate the current work and minimize these limitations. As sleep has a wide array of implications on healthy overall functioning it is recommended to explore the triad further, paving the way to innovations to improve sleep quality and consequently healthy functioning in the student population.Show less
Background: Negative cognitive activity such as maladaptive repetitive thinking is not only experienced by individuals with a mental disorder, but also by the general population. However, not many...Show moreBackground: Negative cognitive activity such as maladaptive repetitive thinking is not only experienced by individuals with a mental disorder, but also by the general population. However, not many studies on this phenomenon include non-clinical samples, which causes a moderate gap in the field of research. This study focuses on the general student population to examine the relationship between academic stress, attentional control, maladaptive repetitive thinking, and sleep difficulty in an attempt to bridge the current gap. Previous research findings indicate a close link between these variables, as well as detrimental consequences when they play a significant role in one’s life. Methods: This study incorporated online survey data from 50 students of Leiden University to investigate the associations between academic stress, attentional control, maladaptive repetitive thinking, and sleep difficulty. Results: An increase in perceived academic stress predicted an increase in maladaptive repetitive thinking, while a decrease in attentional control capacity predicted an increase in maladaptive repetitive thinking. An increase in perceived academic stress and poor attentional control together predicted an increase in maladaptive repetitive thinking. And lastly, an increase in maladaptive repetitive thinking did not predict an increase in experienced sleep difficulty. Discussion: Limitations include a small sample size that decreases this study’s generalizability. However, this study contributes to information that brings awareness to the detrimental effects of maladaptive repetitive thinking. Conclusion: This study should inform people on the importance of providing the general (student) population with interventional strategies to potentially protect them against the consequences of maladaptive repetitive thinking.Show less
Challenges in stress management, effective attention direction, and striving for adequate sleep are reflected in a student’s life and academic performance. According to recent research, decreased...Show moreChallenges in stress management, effective attention direction, and striving for adequate sleep are reflected in a student’s life and academic performance. According to recent research, decreased attentional control is related to an increased tendency to engage in maladaptive repetitive thinking (RT) i.e., rumination and worry, which has been considered as a threat to sleep quality. Furthermore, an increase in academic stress has been found to impair students' sleep quality. Using moderation analysis, the current study investigated whether maladaptive RT strengthened the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality. We used linear regression analysis (LRA) to investigate the relationship between attentional control and maladaptive RT. A number of self- report questionnaires were used in this cross-sectional study to measure attentional control, sleep quality, academic stress, worry, and rumination. The final sample consisted of 50 Leiden University students aged 17-30 years. The results of the simple LRA showed that poor attentional control is related to a higher tendency of maladaptive RT, such as rumination and worry. The result of the moderation analysis revealed that neither rumination (b = -.001, t = -0.90, p = .930) nor worry (b = - .003, t = -0.73, p = .471) strengthened the relationship between increased academic stress and poor sleep quality. Despite its limitations, the study serves as a preliminary study into the role of rumination and worry in the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality and provides methodological suggestions for future research to yield more reliable results.Show less
