Chronotype, Daytime Sleepiness, and Related Factors Effects on Skipping Classroom among Medical Students in Tabuk

Abstract

Background: Lecture attendance is very critical in medical practice. Good sleep hygiene is crucial for academic performance. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the relationship between daytime sleepiness and the chronotype, and skipping the classroom.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical Students in Tabuk from April 2022 to July 2022. Three hundred and thirty-four medical students were randomly selected. A standardized questionnaire based on the daytime sleepiness scale, morningness–eveningness questionnaire, and risk for skipping classrooms was used. The students detailed their sleeping habits for two weeks and then responded to the questionnaire distributed directly by the researchers who attended to solve any difficulties.
 Results: Out of the 334 students,74.7% skipped the classroom last month. The most common reason for absence was the lecturer directly reading from the slide show (72.8%), followed by late lectures (67.8%), lecturers’ presentation skills (65.6%), and lack of interest (57.9%). Daytime sleepiness was evident in 40.1% of the students and was associated with skipping lectures (Wald, 3.86, P-value, 0.049, and 95% CI, 0.19–0.91). The majority were intermediate chronotypes (66.4%), followed by evening chronotypes (24.2%) with no association with skipping classrooms.
 Conclusion: Skipping lectures is common among medical students in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia; the causes were lecture timing, daytime sleepiness, and lecturers’ presentation skills. Most students were an intermediate chronotype that was not associated with classroom absence. Further larger multi-center studies are needed.