Insomnia Medication Use by University Students: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Problematic sleep or insomnia has been a recognised issue for many individuals in society, and university students can be of particular concern due to unique academic pressures. A systematic review was designed to summarise the current evidence about the extent of insomnia medication used by university students and identify characteristics of those more willing to use medication to manage insomnia. Searches were undertaken using Psych INFO, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science, resulting in 25 eligible studies across multiple countries between 1994 and 2020. The prevalence of sleep medication use by students varied widely, from 2% to 41.2%, with an average of 13.1%. Female gender, students experiencing poor sleep, smoking, drinking stimulant beverages, and undertaking fewer physical activities were associated with the use of insomnia medication. Insomnia medication use exists within university student populations but appears to vary considerably worldwide; identifying multiple population characteristics associated with such use would offer opportunities to identify and support those affected.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy11060171
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry
Additional Information: Copyright © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords: insomnia,sleep medication,university/college students,prevalence,determinants,systematic review
Publication ISSN: 2226-4787
Last Modified: 30 Sep 2024 13:35
Date Deposited: 07 Nov 2023 16:46
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.mdp ... 6-4787/11/6/171 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2023-12-01
Published Online Date: 2023-10-27
Accepted Date: 2023-10-21
Authors: Wang, Menghan
Cooper, Richard
Green, Dan (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-1934-6725)

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