Quality of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness among medical students in a Brazilian private university

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess medical students' quality of sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness in different graduation cycles.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at a private university in Maceió, Brazil, from August 2021 to March 2022. The sample was composed of medical students aged 18 years and above from years 1-2 (basic cycle), 3-4 (clinical cycle), and 5-6 (internship) of Medical School who were invited to answer two validated questionnaires: the Pittsburgh Sleeping Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.

Results: A total of 179 students participated; most of them were female (78.2%), aged 19-25 years (73.7%), and with a body mass index<25 kg/m2 (73.7%), with smaller participation from students from the basic cycle (21.2%). Analyzing the Pittsburgh Sleeping Quality Index, 55.9% of the students were classified as having poor sleep quality, with no difference in sleep category between gender, age, body mass index, and graduation cycle. Students with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 had longer sleep latency (p=0.016) and shorter sleep duration (p=0.027). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale assessment showed that 44.1% of the students exhibit daytime sleepiness. Women had more daytime sleepiness than men (p=0.017), with no difference between age, body mass index, and graduation cycle.

Conclusion: About half of the medical students experience poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, regardless of the graduation cycle. This should trigger a targeted institutional intervention to promote better mental and physical health, as well as sleep hygiene, to reduce future health issues.

Figure 1. Distribution according to sleep quality classification by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index among graduation cycles, gender, body mass index, and age. Note: there was no statistically significant difference among any of the groups.