Relationship between Alexithymia and Sleep Quality in University Students

Abstract

Sleep quality is a significant issue for university students because of its impacts on academic performance. It is worth noting that the relationship between alexithymia and sleep quality should be studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between alexithymia and sleep quality in university students. The present study was conducted with 1192 university students. Participants were evaluated using the sociodemographic data form, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).The obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis. The study included 1192 participants. Of the participants 54% were women. The average age was 21.94±3.31 years. The participants were separated into two groups such as "good sleep quality" and "poor sleep quality," according to their PSQI scores. A statistical difference was found between two groups in terms of TAS-20 with a total of, Difficulty Identifying Feelings, Difficulty Describing Feelings, and Externally-Oriented Thinking. A statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the PQSI and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as TAS-20 total score. BMI and TAS-20 were revealed to be significant predictors of poor sleep quality. The present study reveals that alexithymia and sleep quality may be related. It is important for future studies to focus on the factors that mediate this relationship.

Keywords

• Alexithymia
• Sleep quality
• Student
• University

Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Aleksitimi ve Uyku Kalitesi İlişkisi

Öz

Üniversite öğrencilerinde akademik performans üzerine etkileri nedeniyle uyku kalitesi önem arz eden bir durumdur. Aleksitimi ve uyku kalitesi arasındaki ilişkisinin araştırılması gerekliliği dikkat çekmektedir. Bu çalışmada üniversite öğrencilerinde aleksitimi ve uyku kalitesi arasındaki ilişkinin araştırılması amaçlanmaktadır. Mevcut çalışma halen üniversite öğrencisi olan 1192 katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Katılımcıların değerlendirilmesi sosyodemografik veri formu, Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeği-20 (TAS-20) ve Pittsburg Uyku Kalitesi İndeki (PUKİ) ile yapılmıştır. Elde edilen veriler istatistiksel analize tabi tutulmuştur. Çalışmaya 1192 katılımcı alındı. Katılımcıların %54’ü kadındı. Yaş ortalaması 21.94±3.31 yıldı. Katılımcılar PUKİ skorlarına göre “iyi uyku kalitesi” grubu ve “kötü uyku kalitesi” grubu olmak üzere iki gruba bölündü. İki grup arasında TAS-20 toplam, Duyguları Tanımada Zorluk, Duyguları Söze Dökmede Zorluk, ve Dışa-Dönük Düşünme açısından istatiksel olarak fark saptandı. PUKİ ile Vücut Kitle İndeksi (VKİ) ve TAS-20 total skor arasında istatiksel olarak anlamlı ve pozitif yönlü korelasyon saptandı. VKİ ve TAS-20 kötü uyku kalitesi için anlamlı yordayıcı faktörler olarak bulundu. Mevcut çalışma aleksitimi ile uyku kalitesi arasındaki yakın bir ilişki olabileceğini düşündürmektedir. Gelecekte planlanacak çalışmaların bu ilişkiye aracılık eden faktörler üzerine yoğunlaşması önem arz etmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Aleksitimi
• Uyku kalitesi
• Öğrenci
• Üniversite

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