Bimodal diurnal preference in undergraduate students is associated with negative health and sleep outcomes

May 9, 2024Chronobiology international

Having both morning and evening activity preferences in college students is linked to poorer health and sleep

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Abstract

Eighteen percent of undergraduate students exhibit a bimodal preference for daily activity patterns.

Bimodal students, comprising 8% of the total sample, reported poorer subjective sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness.
These individuals displayed lower levels of subjective well-being compared to morning and intermediate types.
Bimodal students experienced greater symptoms of anxiety and depression than their morning and intermediate counterparts.
No significant differences in health and sleep-related outcomes were observed between bimodal and evening types.

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The bimodal preference is a fourth diurnal preference proposed by re-scoring the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. The present work aimed to describe the prevalence of the bimodal preference in a sample of undergraduate students and to characterize the bimodal type in terms of their health and sleep-related outcomes. A web-based cross-sectional study conducted between September 2018 and March 2021 (convenience sampling method). The sample was composed of undergraduate students who completed an electronic form that included the Morningness and Eveningness Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the World Health Organization Subjective Well-Being Index. The final sample consisted of 615 students (82% female, mean age: 23.4 ± 6.5 years), of whom 108 (18%) had positive bimodality indexes. Bimodal subjects comprised 48 students, 8% of the total sample. Bimodal subjects had poorer subjective sleep quality, more daytime sleepiness, lower subjective well-being, greater anxiety and depression symptoms, and lower self-compassion than morning and/or intermediate types; they did not differ from evening types. The description of bimodal diurnal preference in this population may be of interest for the design of academic policies more in line with the circadian reality of students.

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Bimodal diurnal preference in undergraduate students is associated with negative health and sleep outcomes

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