Psychiatry Research EG

Background Medical students are exposed to high academic demands, which may affect their sleep pattern. Insufficient sleep quantity and quality with excessive daytime sleepiness can affect their mental ability needed for proper academic performance. Objective The aim of the study was to examine the sleep pattern and the common sleep disorders among medical students and possible associations with academic performance and evaluation. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a sample of students at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, during the academic year 2009–2010, using a self-report sheet including the following: (i) a designed questionnaire meant to collect data about sleeping behavior and possible factors that may affect it and possible association with the academic performance. (ii) The Insomnia Severity Scale to assess the presence of insomnia and its severity. (iii) The Epworth Sleepiness Scale to assess them for daytime sleepiness in different situations. (iv) A General Health Questionnaire to exclude other significant mental health problem in participants. Results This study was carried out on 435 medical students (51.5% female), with a mean age ± SD of 21.4 ± 1.88. They were selected from all academic groups of the faculty studying in the first to the sixth year. A total of 125 (28.7%) students scored 10 or more on Epworth Sleepiness Scale, suggesting excessive daytime sleepiness. The academic achievements reflected by their last year’s evaluation degrees were distributed among the sample as follows: fair (40.6%), good (69.3%), very good (74%), and excellent (73%). Insomnia during the month preceding data collection was reported as occurring frequently in 32.6% and occasionally in 36.3% of the students and was evident among 62.5, 67.9, 70.9, and 69.7% of the fair, good, very good, and excellent students, respectively. Different parasomnias were prevalent between medical students. Conclusion A high prevalence of sleep disorder was found in this group of students. Students scoring good and very good for their academic performance had the more severe form of sleep disorders. Poor sleep quality and chronic partial sleep deprivation affected some of the students’ learning skills needed, but did not affect the whole learning process. These findings should be considered when working for programs to improve academic performance in medical students keeping in mind different sleep habits and possible sleep problems of students. Keywords: academic performance, prevalence, sleep disorder, sleep habits, undergraduate medical students