Chronotypes, Sleep and Mental Distress Among Chinese College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jiajia Wang; Shuai Liu; Junlong Guo; Rong Xiao; Jia Yu; Xian Luo; Yan Xu; Yuhan Zhao; Yingru Cui; Yue Gu; Lidan Cai; Bin Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.883484

Chronotypes, Sleep and Mental Distress Among Chinese College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Front Psychiatry. 2022 May 26:13:883484. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.883484. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jiajia Wang¹, Shuai Liu¹, Junlong Guo¹, Rong Xiao², Jia Yu³, Xian Luo¹, Yan Xu¹, Yuhan Zhao¹, Yingru Cui¹, Yue Gu¹, Lidan Cai¹, Bin Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Psychosomatic Diseases, The Third People's Hospital of Panzhihua, Panzhihua, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the chronotypes and their relationship with sleep disturbances and mental distress among college students.

Methods: Students from a university in Guangzhou, China, were recruited through a cross-sectional online survey. Data were collected by self-reported questionnaires including socio-demographics, lifestyles and health conditions, sleep patterns on weekdays and weekends, as well as the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), the Insomnia Severity Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory-13, and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine the associations of chronotypes with sleep compensation, sleep disturbances, and mental distress.

Results: A total of 1,607 questionnaires were received, among which 1,569 (97.6%) were valid for further analysis. Among these participants [mean age 19.86 ± 1.16 (15-27) years], morning types (M-types), intermediate types (I-types), and evening types (E-types) accounted for 14.9, 71.5, and 13.6%, respectively. The regression analysis revealed that E-types were positively associated with long sleep compensation on weekends (adjusted OR 2.443, 95%CI 1.740-3.429) compared with I-types, while M-types were the opposite (adjusted OR 0.623, 95%CI 0.392-0.990). E-types were also positively correlated with insomnia symptoms (adjusted OR 2.000, 95%CI 1.428-2.801), depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 2.068, 95%CI 1.496-2.858), and anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR 2.188, 95%CI 1.387-3.451). However, no significant association was found between chronotypes and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Conclusion: Our study found that E-types were associated with long sleep compensation on weekends and insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Our findings emphasized the importance of early recognition and intervention of E-types and their accompanied sleep problems and mental distress.

Keywords: anxiety; chronotype; depression; insomnia; sleep compensation.