In this paper, I will be exploring the multi-faceted influences on sleep quality using a socio-ecological model to present these factors, in the context of Singapore. I am personally very interested in this issue of sleep because I have observed that sleep is very undervalued in terms of measuring how healthy our lifestyles are. I will also be exploring how these factors apply to my own sleep quality.
For the purposes of this study, I will be defining the optimal sleep behaviour as more than merely the number of hours we sleep, but rather the quality of sleep, which includes other factors of sleep such as sleep disturbances, or occurrences of chronic sleep disorders e.g. insomnia, etc.
Background of Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is
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This approach also helps expands responsibility for health not just on the individual, but on the community and environment as well.
If we would like to alter the individual’s behaviour to make healthy sleep choices as a society, it can occur only in a supportive environment. According to Professor Deitrich Dorner, to do so, we need to consider the “deficiency… within the context of its system”, otherwise we may only be “treat[ing] only the symptoms and not the source of the trouble”. Using the socio-ecological model not only “acknowledg[es] the existence of many variables”, it also brings to light how these variables “can affect one another and
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does not stay up at night) with sufficient sleep would possibly influence the individual to sleep regularly.
Family conflict within the home has been found to predict later poor sleep quality and insomnia in adulthood (Barclay, 2011). Research has found that familial habits at bedtime for instance, the time the family sets to go to bed and sleeping routines, affects the amount of children sleep (Pittman, 2013).
School
It is common for students to not stay with their parents nowadays, but instead staying in boarding schools or dormitories. Research has shown that parental social control improves youths’ sleep habits (Maume, 2013). Without regulation and supervision of parents, it is likely that these students would not have self control to have regular sleep hours, leading to poor sleep quality.
MACRO-LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Macro-level environmental factors are often undervalued in terms of their importance in affecting how much sleep we get. Such factors include the social norm (culture) with regards to sleep, etc.
Societal