A Cross-Sectional Snapshot of Sleep Quality and Quantity Among US Medical Students

Abstract

Impaired sleep quality may contribute to fatigue in medical students even when sleep quantity seems adequate. Students appear to begin medical school with disrupted sleep patterns that may not improve until their final year of study. Education regarding proper sleep habits and the significant role of sleep quality in sustaining healthy sleep is especially important in the early stages of medical education. Minority, first year, and third year students may benefit the most from learning new behaviors that promote sufficient sleep quality during periods of sustained stress.

Sleep Disturbances Rate among Medical and Allied Health Professions Students in Iran: Implications from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature

“…First and second year students reported also the highest levels of sleep somnolence. Stratifying according to ethnicity revealed that minority students were more likely to report lower levels of sleep adequacy and sleep quantity and higher levels of sleep somnolence in a statistically significant way when compared with their Caucasian counterparts [41]. An even higher percentage was computed among students in Saudi Arabia, where poor sleep quality was reported by 74.2% of the study participants [42].…”

Sleep Deprived and Overwhelmed: Sleep Behaviors of Medical Students in the USA

“…In their cross-sectional online survey of medical students (n = 860) across 49 medical schools in 29 states, Ayala et al [4] similarly found that students slept less than 7 h each night (6.83 h, on average over the prior 4 weeks), with students receiving the least sleep in year 3 and the most sleep in year 2 of medical school. Students in their last year had fewer sleep problems, as measured by the Sleep Problems Index, which is a subset of items from the well-validated Medical Outcomes Sleep Study Scale.…”

“…A vital and unique focus of the analyses in Ayala et al's study [4] related to the diminished quality of sleep of minority students. Minority students, defined as non-Caucasian, had more somnolence, which is reflective of daytime sleepiness, as well as lower self-reported levels of sleep adequacy and fewer hours of sleep per night.…”

Sleep Hygiene in Medical Students in Tehran; Do They Learn to Attend to Their Own Health?

“…In older ages, poor subjective sleep quality might be a sign of changes of cognitive decline (34). Impaired sleep quality might result in fatigue despite adequate sleep duration (35), which highlights the importance of considering all aspects of sleep in designing intervention programs.…”