Insomnia is one of the leading causes behind issues related to mental health. The article is “Insomnia and Mental Health in College Students” by Daniel J. Taylor, Christie E. Gardner, Adam D. Bramoweth, Jacob M. Williams, Brandy M. Roane, Emily A. Grieser and John I. Tatum (2011). In this article, the harmful effect of insomnia on the college population has been examined. It can be stated that insomnia means sleep deprivation and it can affect the body’s biological clock (Khan & Aouad, 2017). As a result, mental health issues are bound to happen among young adults as they already suffer from stress associated with their studies. Further examination to find the real causes is significant. One of the limitations of the study includes assessment of health symptoms is based on self-report measures. Lack of a structured clinical interview is another limitation.
In this study, a sample size of 373 undergraduate college students has been chosen. They have been selected from major courses such as math, engineering, health sciences, psychology, and performing arts and so on. Questionnaire and consent forms have been distributed. Sleep diaries and health questionnaires were used as well. The results show that young adults are highly susceptible to psychiatric disorders. The results obtained from college population also align with the general population.
After analyzing the methodology section, it has been found that the authors used a good size for their sample. The sample size played a significant role because results cannot be inferred based on a study of small population. Similarly, the usage of the health questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90 and sleep diary method, it has been possible for the researchers to conduct an in-depth study. One of the limitations of the methodology section is noted in the usage of health questionnaire method. A lot of sleep complaints has been used and few of them are restless legs, sleep paralysis or sleep attacks. However, questions related to substance use, chronic health and exercise are missing. Another limitation is in the usage of Sleep diaries method. Participants were asked to provide an estimation of their sleep patterns and therefore, the reliability of the method is questionable.
The results section played a significant role in enhancing the research because a wider definition of mental health symptoms has been used in comparison to previous studies. The chances of getting incorrect results were low because the researchers succeeded in developing a control for the comorbid medical disorders. In case of results, a fact remained unknown. It was not possible to understand that whether mental health issues increases when an individual shows insomnia symptoms. Again, the usage of self-report measures for assessing mental health conditions is another limitation of the results. Further research is necessary because self-reports are somewhat inaccurate.
The researchers have used a more rigorous definition of symptoms associated with mental health and it has added depth to the study. The authors interpreted and showed evidence regarding the onset of psychological issues among young adults and its existing association with insomnia. However, the study could have been enriched if a structured method for conducting a clinical interview would have been used. It has been proved that great differences do not exist between the general population and the college population in case of insomnia and mental health issues. Hence, it is a new finding that previous researchers failed to interpret. Nevertheless, further examination is needed and studies focused on identifying the prospective nature of the association should be conducted. Mental health issue is one of the consequences; however, other consequences of insomnia among college students should be examined in the future to enrich the study.
References
Khan, M. S., & Aouad, R. (2017). The effects of insomnia and sleep loss on cardiovascular disease. Sleep medicine clinics, 12(2), 167-177.
Taylor, D. J., Gardner, C. E., Bramoweth, A. D., Williams, J. M., Roane, B. M., Grieser, E. A., & Tatum, J. I. (2011). Insomnia and mental health in college students. Behavioral sleep medicine, 9(2), 107-116.