SLEEP HABITS AMONG FIRST YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS

Sleep is part of the rhythm of life; without a good sleep the mind is less adaptive, mood is altered and the body loses the ability to refresh. The sleep-wake cycle of medical students is quite different and sleep deprivation, poor sleep quality, occurrence of napping episodes during the day. This study was designed to assess sleep habits in first year medical students. MATERIAL AND METHODS Participants of this study were healthy medical students of first year MBBS course of Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to students to assess age, sleep-wake schedule, naps, total sleep time at night, possible factors affecting bedtime and daytime sleepiness using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and quality of sleep by using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULT The final study included 65 students, total sleep time at night+ nap of the whole group was 5.5+/-1.6 hours. Seven students (10%) were defined to have Excessive Day Time Sleepiness (EDS) based on ESS score of >10. Also 70.2% students reported napping during the day time and 60% students have poor sleep quality (PSQI score >5). CONCLUSION Analysis of the sleep habit of medical students revealed that this group is sleep deprived, which in turn may affect their academic performance.