Publication: The association between sleep quality with eating behavior among female undergraduate students in Universiti Sains Malaysia, health campus
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Date
2026-07
Authors
Mohamed, Wan Nur Izati Wan
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Abstract
Research on the relationship between sleep quality and eating behavior is important, particularly among university students who often experience academic stress and irregular sleep and eating schedules. This study aimed to determine the relationship between sleep quality and eating behavior among female undergraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. This cross-sectional study involved 108 female undergraduate students aged 18 to 25 years. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ). Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between sleep quality and eating behavior. The findings showed that although the majority of respondents perceived their sleep quality as fairly good, several PSQI components indicated sleep-related difficulties, including prolonged sleep latency, shorter sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction. Respondents also demonstrated a greater tendency towards food approach behaviors than food avoidance behaviors. Poorer sleep quality was significantly negatively associated with enjoyment of food (r = -0.308, p = 0.001), while sleep disturbances were significantly positively associated with emotional overeating (r = 0.254, p = 0.008), hunger (r = 0.210, p = 0.029), and food fussiness (r = 0.209, p = 0.030). In conclusion, several components of sleep quality were significantly associated with eating behavior among female undergraduate students. These findings highlight the importance of developing interventions to improve sleep quality and promote healthy eating behaviours among university students.
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