0388 Multidimensional Sleep Health of College Students from Rural Areas: A Mix-Method Study

Abstract Introduction Suboptimal sleep is prevalent among college students, with 45.5% of college students not getting enough sleep. However, these data overlook differences in sleep health among college students with different demographic backgrounds. College students from rural areas face additional challenges impacting their sleep. Yet no prior research has investigated the sleep health of rural students transitioning to non-rural colleges. This project investigated multidimensional sleep health of college freshmen from rural versus urban areas and identified key risk and protective factors of healthy sleep. Methods This is a mixed-method study: quantitative data collection over one month, and qualitative interviews after the data collection period. Participants were 75 college freshmen recruited from a University in the Midwest, US. Among them, 51 were from rural areas, defined using the National Center for Education Statistics locale classifications. Participants were instructed to wear GENEActive for one month, and objective sleep parameters, including total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency, were estimated. Participant also reported their subjective multidimensional sleep health with the Ru-SATED 4.0 scale for both prior to college and during the first semester of college. Participants' demographic information was collected at the beginning of the study. Results Quantitative results indicated no significant differences among rural and urban students based on self-reports of sleep before college, except that rural students had better sleep quality. However, during the first semester, rural students had slightly shorter sleep duration and wider variability in sleep duration, later and more variability in sleep timing, less awake during daytime, and had more variability in their sleep satisfaction. Qualitative interviews identified unique factors affecting rural students’ sleep. In addition to common risk factors for all college students, including academic stress, roommates, and social life, rural students were more affected by environmental noise and social anxiety. Conclusion This study addresses the research gap in the sleep health of rural students transitioning to non-rural colleges. Findings of this research highlight the importance of accounting for demographic background in studying the sleep health of college students. Understanding the unique experiences of rural students will inform the development of future intervention programs. Support (if any) NIH P30GM154593; NIH P20GM103474