(PS1-87) Exploring the Links Between Sleep Quality and Daily Physical Symptoms Using Ecological Momentary Assessment in a Sample of Socioeconomically and Ethnically Diverse College Students

Poor sleep quality can lead to a wide array of adverse mental and physical health outcomes (Hertenstein et al., 2019; Chattu et al., 2018). Moreover, sleep problems are incredibly prevalent during the college years, with over 60% of college students reporting disturbed sleep and associated issues with physical and psychological health compared to students with better sleep quality (Lund et al., 2010). However, there is a gap in the literature on the relationship between sleep and day-to-day physical symptoms among diverse college student populations. Additionally, previous research mainly focused on first-year students, necessitating a broader examination across different stages of college (Rea et al., 2022). The present study therefore used daily diary methods to explore how the previous night’s sleep quality is associated with daily reports of common physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, heartburn, chest pain). Additional analyses covaried for daily stress, given links between daily stressors and both sleep and physical health (e.g., Raposa et al., 2015). This study involved 109 college students (63.7% female) aged 18 to 31 years (M = 19.87, SD = 2.03) from a U.S. public university. Ethnicity varied, with 43.1% identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, followed by 30.3% White/Caucasian, 12.8% Hispanic American/Latine, 8.3% multiracial, and 5.5% identifying as Black. Family income also varied, with 34.2% of participants reporting less than $49,999, 39.8% between $50,000 and $149,999, and 25.9% reporting between $150,000 and $200,000. Participants completed baseline and daily diary questionnaires over 14 days, responding via email between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. 

In the daily health questionnaire, participants rated the severity of different health issues and symptoms (e.g., headaches, backaches, chest pain, heartburn,  dizziness) on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely), excluding other potential causes for physical symptoms. In the same questionnaire, participants were asked about their sleep quality the previous night, with responses ranging from 0 (very good) to 3 (very bad). Linear regression models showed that higher average sleep quality across the two-week time span predicted better physical health, on average, across the daily reports on physical symptoms (β = .631, p < .001).  This relationship remained significant even after covarying for daily stress (β= .220, p< .001). Additional analyses will use hierarchical linear models to examine day level variability in physical symptoms as a function of sleep quality, and will also be presented. In addition, subsequent analyses will test whether poor sleep quality might exacerbate the impact of daily stressors on daily physical symptoms. These findings promise to provide important insights into the relationship between sleep quality, hours spent sleeping, and physical symptoms among college students, using a rigorous longitudinal design and a diverse sample. The development of models assessing the impact of sleep quality during college can  inform efforts to use evidence-based techniques to support diverse college students' physical well-being by identifying potential targets for prevention and intervention efforts in this population.