Sleep, circadian rhythm and mood are all mutually reliant processes, and the development of the sleep, circadian rhythm and mood survey (SCRAM) by Byrne et al (2017) simultaneously measured three 5-item latent scales: sleep quality, diurnal preference and depressed mood. The purpose of this research was to address, highlight and present supplementary evidence for this innovative approach within the context of a University institution. More specifically, to draw conclusions, correlations and to shed light on distinctions between academic years of study and even gender where previous litertature has left this to conjecture. An Epistemological research methodology was utilised that followed the research onion (Saunders, 2019) which led to the production of a web-based survey research design. 137 of the 158 responses were adequate for data analysis and evaluation found morningness and good sleep were positively correlated with each other (.58). Subsequently, both good sleep and morningness were negatively correlated with the depressed mood scale (-.31 and -.573 respectively). These statistics suggest that morningness is more negatively associated to depressed mood than that of the good sleep scale, which is contrary to previous research which calls for further investigation. Furthermore, a distinction was discovered between genders and academic years of study that both previous SCRAM and other research has yet to unearth. However, there are some short comings to this research, such as sample size so additional research surrounding this specific subject matter should be conducted in order to reach significant conclusions. In Spite of this, the research provides support for SCRAM to be used as a clinical tool that University health services should adopt and use to maintain/ enhance students personal and educational routines.
Keywords: Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, Mood, Depression, University, SCRAM
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.