Self-rated health is associated with sleep quality in teacher education students

Sleep problems are common among university students and are associated with lifestyle behaviors, health status, and overall wellbeing. Examining factors associated with sleep quality in teacher education students may provide valuable insights into student wellbeing and sleep-related health risks.

This study examined whether health behaviors, self-rated health, and objectively measured cardiorespiratory fitness predict sleep quality among teacher education students.

A total of 228 students completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a questionnaire assessing alcohol consumption, cigarette and energy drink use, body mass index, and self-rated health. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using the 20-metre shuttle run test. Participants were classified as good or poor sleepers using the standard PSQI cut-off (>5). Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted in three steps: Model 1 included age, sex, and relationship status, Model 2 added health and health-related variables, and Model 3 included VO₂max.

Poor sleep quality was reported by 36.4% of students. In hierarchical logistic regression analysis, self-rated health was the only significant predictor of poor sleep quality. Compared with students reporting very good or excellent health, those reporting good health (OR = 2.91; 95% CI: 1.54-5.47; p < 0.001) and poor/very poor health (OR = 3.16; 95% CI: 1.02-9.76; p = 0.046) had higher odds of poor sleep quality. Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂max) was not independently associated with sleep quality in the final regression model. The final model demonstrated modest explanatory power (Nagelkerke R ² = 0.120).

Self-rated health showed the most consistent association with sleep quality among teacher education students, suggesting that students' perceptions of their overall health may serve as a simple indicator of wellbeing in this population.