Factors Influencing Good Sleep Hygiene Behavior Among Students in College of MedicalSciences in South- South, Nigeria

Sleep hygiene is essential for maintaining both health and academic performance, particularly for medical sciences students who often face unique stressors. Poor sleep hygiene has become a global public health concern, increasing the demand for effective and accessible sleep promotion strategies. This study assessed factors influencing good sleep hygiene behavior among students in college of medical sciences, Rivers State University. A descriptive cross-sectional design; multi-stage sampling was used to determine sample size of 273, (200 to 400) level students. Self-structured e-questionnaire was used to collect data; reliability of the instrument was established through test-retest method. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the reliability coefficient of 0.85, same was adjudged adequate for the instrument. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and results presented as percentage, frequency distributions and chart. The findings from the study revealed that several barriers to effective sleep hygiene exist, including use of electronic devices (92%) within an hour of bedtime, unaware of the negative impact of this behavior on sleep quality, social activities (67.1%), environmental factors (61.2%), academic workload (59.2%) among other factors. Study concluded that poor knowledge, cultural, behavioural and environmental factors influences good sleep hygiene behaviours among the study population. Recommendations included that targeted educational interventions, such as workshops, seminars and even including it in their curriculum should be adopted and used to significantly improve sleep hygiene knowledge and practices among medical students.