Wellness and sleep quality in Korean nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Nursing students often experience stress and related sleep disturbances in striving to meet their academic needs. Wellness is the optimal state of health required to perform their roles successfully. Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationship between wellness and sleep quality among nursing students in South Korea. Methods: We conducted a descriptive and correlational study, using standardized tools assessing sleep quality and wellness. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling. We surveyed 237 nursing students from two Korean universities, who agreed to participate in this study and completed a self-reported questionnaire between June 2017 and March 2018. The online questionnaire collected data on general information about the participants, their wellness, and their sleep quality. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test and correlation analyses. Results: We found a significant difference in wellness between the good-quality and poor-quality sleep groups and a positive correlation between nursing students' wellness and sleep quality. Conclusions: The findings suggest that improving sleep quality is important for enhancing wellness among nursing students. Therefore, academic efforts are needed to improve nursing students' sleep quality and maximize their overall wellness and positively impact patient care.