Investigating the Prevalence of Stress and its Relationship with Sleep Quality in University Students: A Study in Iran

Introduction: Students are willing to cut back on sleep in order to adapt and cope with their stressful work load and environment. This study examines the prevalence of stress and its relationship with sleep quality. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using available sampling of male and female students of the Nursing and Midwifery Faculty of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz in 2022. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire was used to measure sleep quality and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale Questionnaire was used to measure stress. Results: The prevalence of all levels of stress among students was 53.2% (140 people). 61 people (23.2%) experienced mild stress, 35 students (13.3%) experienced moderate stress, and 44 students (16.7%) experienced severe stress. The average score of Kessler's psychological distress (K10) of the participants was 21.9 ± 7.3 (maximum = 50). No significant relationship was observed between stress and gender (p=0.25) and academic year (p=0.72). There was a statistically significant relationship between sleep quality and stress (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study reports the high prevalence of stress and poor sleep quality in students of Ahvaz College of Nursing and Midwifery. This study shows a strong connection between sleep quality and stress.