Abstract
This paper establishes an integrative theoretical model examining the direct mechanisms connecting sleep latency and structural sleep disturbances (both somatic and micro-environmental) to university students' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). By moving beyond traditional, unidimensional volumetric sleep metrics (such as total sleep duration), this framework bridges Sleep Hygiene Theory and the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Insomnia to capture qualitative sleep architecture. This study aims to integrate established methods of sleep assessment (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] and health indices EuroQol [EQ-5D]) and to develop a framework of new qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the negative impact of poor sleep on the functioning and productivity of individuals. To achieve the framework's immediate relevance, functional tactical innovations were modelled based on a thorough analysis of the latest literature in the field of behavioural medicine and public health for the years 2024-2026. The main goal of the last conceptual model is to provide immediate, data-supported, and feasible recommendations to inform wellness-related policies in higher education. Institutional policies should align academic timetabling with biological circadian rhythms by capping mandatory 8:00 AM lectures for high-workload programs, allowing adequate sleep recovery windows. Furthermore, student counselling services should integrate brief PSQI-based sleep latency and disturbance screeners into standard wellness intake assessments, identifying sleep-deprived individuals early for non-pharmacological Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) workshops.
Keywords
- Sleep Latency Search this journal for Sleep Latency (opens in a new tab)
- Sleep Disturbance Search this journal for Sleep Disturbance (opens in a new tab)
- Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Search this journal for Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) (opens in a new tab)
- Conceptual Framework Search this journal for Conceptual Framework (opens in a new tab)
- Theoretical Scaffolding Search this journal for Theoretical Scaffolding (opens in a new tab)
- Higher Education Policy Search this journal for Higher Education Policy (opens in a new tab)
References
- CDC. (2022). Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Metrics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Crivello, A., Barsocchi, P., Girolami, M., & Palumbo, F. (2019). The meaning of sleep quality: A survey of available technologies. IEEE Access, 7, 167374–167390. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2953835
- Dinis, J., & Bragança, M. (2019). Quality of sleep and depression in college students: A systematic review. Sleep Science, 11(4), 290–301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5935/1984-0063.20180045
- Foulkes, L., McMillan, D., & Gregory, A. (2019). A bad night’s sleep on campus: an interview study of first-year university students with poor sleep quality. Sleep Health, 5(3), 280–287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2019.01.003
- Harvey, A. G. (2002). A cognitive model of insomnia. Behavior Research and Therapy, 40(8), 869–893. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00061-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00061-4
- Hsu, Y.-C., Wang, H., Zhao, Y., Chen, F., & Tsui, K.-L. (2021). Automatic recognition and analysis of balance activity in community-dwelling older adults: Algorithm validation. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12), Article e30135. https://doi.org/10.2196/30135 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/30135
- Jankovic, S., Natasa, S., Mikulic, M., Sebija, I., & Lickovic, A. (2021). Multi-axis indicators for comprehensive physical functioning. Journal of Behavioral Health, 14(2), 112–125.
- Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607–610. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
- McLeod, S. (2023). Likert scale questionnaire: Meaning, examples & analysis. Simply Psychology.
- Schmickler, J. M., Blaschke, S., Robbins, R., & Mess, F. (2023). Determinants of sleep quality: A cross-sectional study in university students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), Article 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032019
- Shahid, A., Wilkinson, K., Marcu, S., & Shapiro, C. M. (2011). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index sub-domains evaluation. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193–213.
- Spielman, A. J., Caruso, L. S., & Glovinsky, P. B. (1987). A behavioral perspective on insomnia treatment. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 10(4), 541–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-953X(18)30532-X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-953X(18)30532-X
- Wang, X., & Cheng, Z. (2020). Cross-sectional studies. CHEST Journal, 158(1), S65–S71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.012
- Zhang, Z., Liu, Z., Lin, Y., Guo, M., Xu, X., & Peng, L. (2025). Physical activity and sleep quality among Chinese college students: the serial mediating roles of anxiety and depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1635406. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1635406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1635406
Downloads
Full-text downloads recorded for this article, by month.
No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.
How to Cite
Share this article
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Liatul Izian Binti Ali Husin, Dilla Syadia Ab Latiff, Noorizan Mohamad Mozie, Norfazlina Ghazali (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.
This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.
Keywords
- Sleep Latency Search this journal for Sleep Latency (opens in a new tab)
- Sleep Disturbance Search this journal for Sleep Disturbance (opens in a new tab)
- Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Search this journal for Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) (opens in a new tab)
- Conceptual Framework Search this journal for Conceptual Framework (opens in a new tab)
- Theoretical Scaffolding Search this journal for Theoretical Scaffolding (opens in a new tab)
- Higher Education Policy Search this journal for Higher Education Policy (opens in a new tab)
Section
Published in
Vol. 18 No. 3(I) (2026)
Digital Transformation, Sustainability & Learning Innovation
View issue contents
Published
Submissions
Have research to publish? Information Management and Business Review welcomes submissions.
Make a Submission