Ethnic and racial discrimination and sleep health among Asian American college students

Sleep health is increasingly recognized as a key factor influencing college students' well-being. However, research remains limited on the ethnic and racial discrimination experiences (both indirect and direct discrimination) that shape sleep health in Asian American college students. This study investigated daily associations between discrimination and sleep among Asian American students.

Participants were 168 Asian American first-year college students (Mage = 18.38 years, SD = 0.41; 65.5% female) in the northeastern United States. Over a 14-day period, self-reported direct ethnic and racial discrimination, indirect discrimination (i.e., vicarious racism), and actigraphy-measured sleep outcomes were assessed.

At the within-person level, on days when Asian American students reported higher-than-usual levels of ethnic and racial discrimination, they woke up earlier (b = -0.487, p = .050) and got out of bed earlier (b = -0.543, p = .006). However, at the between-person level, students with higher levels of direct discrimination woke up later (b = 1.571, p = .045) and got out of bed later (b = 1.769, p = .024). Students with higher levels of indirect discrimination had lower sleep efficiency (b = -16.809, p = .031), more WASO (b = 39.011, p = .021) and shorter sleep duration (b = -157.211, p = .024).

Both direct and indirect discrimination are critical social determinants of sleep health among Asian American college students. This study offers insights to guide culturally tailored institution-level policies that promote sleep health among Asian American college students during this crucial transicition.