Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as the Basis for Preventive Intervention in a Sleep Health Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study of E-Mail Newsletters to College Students

Several reports suggest that college students often have atypical sleep patterns and experience poor sleep quality. We examined the effect of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based intervention program to improve sleep quality and overall mental health among college students. The intervention was delivered in the form of e-mail newsletters. Fifty-three students participated in the intervention group, and another 50 students participated in the control group. The intervention group received a lecture on sleep hygiene; once-weekly e-mail newsletters on sleep health topics (sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep titration, and relapse prevention) and were asked to maintain a four-week sleep diary. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a measure of sleep quality, and the Kessler 6, a measure of psychological distress, were administered before the lecture (as the baseline measurement) and again 16 weeks later (follow-up measurement). PSQI and K6 scores were reduced in the intervention group compared with the control group. A CBT-based sleep health program utilizing e-mail newsletters may work to improve sleep quality and mental health. This program may represent a cost effective way for Japanese students to receive treatment for poor sleep and may also serve to prevent psychiatric problems.