Sleep, chronotype and health promoting behaviours as predictors of Taiwanese University students’ depressive symptoms

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of depressive symptoms with sleep patterns, chronotype and health-promoting behaviours among Taiwanese university students. Gender and year group differences were also examined. A total of 237 university undergraduates from over 30 different universities in Taiwan (126 males, 111 females, mean age = 20.68 years, SD = 1.46) participated in this study. A self-report online questionnaire was used to assess the sleep behaviour (sleep duration, sleep quality), individual chronotype, health-promoting behavior (nutrition, social support, physical activity), and depression. Correlation analysis revealed that depression was positively correlated with poor sleep quality and later chronotype, and negatively associated with focus on nutrition. Poor sleep quality was negatively related to focus on nutrition. The linear regression analyses found that poor sleep quality and later chronotype positively predicted depression, and nutrition and physical activity were negative predictors of depression. Hence, interventions that target these specific factors can be more effective in mitigating depression among university students.