Non-pharmacological self-management of sleep among the Japanese general population

The present study was conducted to clarify the prevalence of non-pharmacological self-management (nPSM) practices for obtaining good sleep and to identify favorable nPSM practices that could be applied for reducing excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). We analyzed epidemiological data for an authentic representative sample of the Japanese population.

Data obtained from 24,686 adults via a self-administered questionnaire completed in the Active Survey of Health and Welfare 2000 were used for analyses. The prevalence of individual nPSM practices was calculated by gender. Subsequently, the associations between such practices and EDS were examined using logistic regression analyses.

"Having a bath" was the most prevalent nPSM practice for both men (59.0%) and women (64.4%), followed by "maintaining a regular schedule" (men: 49.0%, women: 58.6%), "reading or listening to music" (men: 43.4%, women: 49.4%), "snacking on food and/or beverages" (men: 36.1%, women: 27.9%), and "exercising" (men: 26.2%, women: 29.4%). The prevalence of "maintaining a regular schedule" increased with age. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that having a bath and maintaining a regular schedule had negative associations with EDS, whereas snacking on food and/or beverages had a positive association.

Having a bath and maintaining a regular schedule were identified as favorable nPSM practices for reducing EDS, whereas snacking on food and/or beverages was considered to be an unfavorable nPSM practice.