Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits in University Students: A Nudging Intervention to Improve Sleep Behavior

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00040587

Enrollment

158

Registered

2026-07-10

Start date

2025-07-15

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

sleep quality of german university students

Interventions

Group 1: Intervention group (IG): Digital nudging intervention with sleep-related content (sleep hygiene and sleep knowledge) via study app (2 digital messages per week over 4 weeks, delivered as text

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Owning a smartphone running Android 5 or iOS 14 or higher

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: - diagnosed sleep disorder according to ICD-10 (G47.-) - taking medication for the treatment of a sleep disorder - pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Subjective sleep duration of students, assessed by daily self-report of sleep onset and wake times via the study app, recorded continuously over the entire study period of 6 weeks. Sleep quality of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2). Sleep hygiene of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale (SHAPS), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2). Sleep-related knowledge of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale (SHAPS), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2).	—

Measure

Time frame

Subjective sleep duration of students, assessed by daily self-report of sleep onset and wake times via the study app, recorded continuously over the entire study period of 6 weeks. Sleep quality of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2). Sleep hygiene of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale (SHAPS), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2). Sleep-related knowledge of students, assessed using an adapted version of the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale (SHAPS), measured at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after an additional 2 weeks at follow-up (t2).

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Demographic information of students (age, sex, field of study), collected via self-report, assessed once at baseline (t0). Chronotype of students, assessed using the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), assessed once at baseline (t0). Perceived stress of students, assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), assessed once at baseline (t0). Mental health status of students, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), assessed once at baseline (t0). Objective sleep duration of a randomly selected sub-sample, assessed via continuous measurement of physical activity and rest phases using an actigraph (wGT3X+), worn on the wrist throughout the entire 4-week intervention period.	—

Measure

Time frame

Demographic information of students (age, sex, field of study), collected via self-report, assessed once at baseline (t0). Chronotype of students, assessed using the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), assessed once at baseline (t0). Perceived stress of students, assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), assessed once at baseline (t0). Mental health status of students, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), assessed once at baseline (t0). Objective sleep duration of a randomly selected sub-sample, assessed via continuous measurement of physical activity and rest phases using an actigraph (wGT3X+), worn on the wrist throughout the entire 4-week intervention period.

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactJohanna Schmickler

Professur für Sport- und Gesundheitsdidaktik

johanna.schmickler@tum.de+49 89 289 24974

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 10, 2026