Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in medical students of a state university of Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

An adequate amount of good quality sleep is essential for better cognitive performance and to maintain good physical and mental health. Poor sleep quality is related to poor academic achievement in medical students.The objective of this study was to describe the sleep quality of the undergraduates of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences (FMAS), Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (RUSL). All medical students of FMAS, RUSL were recruited for the study. A questionnaire comprised of the original, untranslated versions of the Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used with written permission from relevant authorities. The response rate of this study was 82.7% (662/800). After excluding participants with missing information, data of 649 were analysed. The mean age of the participants was 23 (±1.7) years and the majority were females (n=460,70.8%). The median duration of sleep per night was 6 hours (IQ range: 4 - 8 hours). According to PSQI and ESS 25.9% (n=168) of the study, participants had poor sleep quality (PSQI>5) while 35% (n=227) had abnormally high levels of daytime sleepiness (ESS ≥11). A weak positive correlation was observed between the Global PSQI score and ESS (r = 0.099, p = 0.012, Pearson correlation). The academic year showed significant differences in the sleep quality among medical students, where the percentages of students with poor sleep quality are comparatively higher in the first two academic years and the final year.  The academic year and gender of the students showed a statistically significant association with excessive daytime sleepiness