It is known that sleep/wake timing shifts later due to pubertal changes of the circadian timing and homeostatic sleep systems during the second decade of life. Consequently, adolescents and young adults can experience sleep loss and excessive daytime sleepiness as they attempt to synchronize their natural delayed schedule with the requirements of everyday societal schedules such as school and office hours.

University students living in halls of residence face additional challenges that can further affect their quality of sleep. Problems in their sleep environment may include noise and roommates’ different habits. The demands to contribute to the communal life of the hall and to integrate socially in its high-density living environment, the stress from the short-term academic workload, and long-term anxiety related to independent adult life, and the lack of knowledge and practice of good sleep hygiene, further add to these problems. Not surprisingly, university students are viewed as being chronically sleep-deprived.