A new study finds links between insomnia and loneliness in college students.
iiievgeniy/E+/Getty Images
Today’s college students are in a loneliness epidemic, according to U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy, and one that could have impacts on their sleep and overall health.
A recently published study from researchers at Oregon State University, Chaminade University of Honolulu and Harvard Medical School evaluates how loneliness and screen time differently predict insomnia in college students and how screen time can impact insomnia among lonely and less lonely students.
The article, published in November in the Journal of American College Health, found that while loneliness and screen time were positive predictors of insomnia symptoms, loneliness was even more so.
The background: College students (18.5 percent) are more likely than their same-aged peers in the general population (7.4 percent) to have insomnia.
Previous research shows poor stimulus control, caffeine intake, substance use and device use are in part tied to sleep difficulties among learners. Insomnia is also associated with poor mental health, including stress, anxiety, mood disturbance, suicidality and poorer quality of life.
While in college, students are often at risk of loneliness because their transition to higher education creates social and emotional challenges, including the loss of long-standing social relationships. Loneliness, like insomnia, can cause mental health challenges for students and put them at risk of losing sleep as well.
Methodology: The study included 1,001 college students at two universities in the Pacific Northwest or Pacific Islands, fielded between April 2021 and September 2022. All participants were at least 18 years old and under 30 years old.
To gauge screen time, participants estimated how much time they’ve used an electronic device each day over the past 14 days and how much time they spent on online activities. Researchers grouped students’ screen time into three categories: social (social networking and texting), nonsocial (streaming media, browsing for leisure, gaming, reading), and productivity (schoolwork or other work).
Loneliness was measured on the 20-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and insomnia on the seven-item Insomnia Severity Index.
The results: Among respondents, the average total screen time was 10.2 hours per day. Forty percent of participants met the cutoff for clinically significant insomnia symptoms (scoring more than 10 on the ISI) and 35 percent had high loneliness levels (a score over 44 on the R-UCLA).
Similar to previous studies, insomnia was positively correlated with loneliness, with lonelier students almost twice as likely to report clinically significant insomnia symptoms, compared to their peers. Loneliness is associated with stress and depression, both of which can impact students’ sleeping.
Additionally, the study affirmed that an individual’s total screen time was associated with insomnia severity. Among students who had a total screen time of more than 10 hours per day, 40 percent or more met the cutoff score for insomnia.
Nonsocial screen use was positively related with loneliness, but social screen time was negatively associated with loneliness. Researchers noted that social media use could be mixed, with students both passively scrolling but also engaging with others in a way that is more social.
Researchers also found that participants who had low loneliness scores were more likely to be impacted by high levels of screen time; the more screen time less lonely students reported, the higher their insomnia scores were.
So what? Based on their findings, researchers recommend that college students use electronic devices for a maximum of eight to 10 hours per day to reduce their risk of developing insomnia. However, loneliness was a greater predictor of insomnia, so addressing psychological factors may need to come first, prior to screen time reduction.
“University and college administrators should be encouraged to implement consistent messaging regarding the risks associated with too much screen time, coupled with interventions to promote social connectedness for college students,” according to the report.
Do you have a wellness tip that might help others encourage student success? Tell us about it.