Poor sleep quality in basic Medical students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i5.51153Keywords:
Sleep Deprivation, Medical Student, Student Behavior.Abstract
Some studies have shown that students in the health field have a significant rate of depression and anxiety, with sleep deprivation being one of the possible causes. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the sleep quality of medical students throughout the different periods of the basic cycle, through the application of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index – Brazilian version. This is an observational, cross-sectional study, in which convenience sampling was used. Students regularly enrolled in the Medicine course at a Brazilian University in 2025, from the first five semesters, were included. The study sample consisted of 90 medical students from a Brazilian University, from the first 5 semesters of their undergraduate studies. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups (H = 2.23; p = 0.69). The overall mean score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was 7.66 ± 2.89 points, indicating a predominance of poor sleep quality in the sample. Among the components of the instrument, the highest mean scores were observed in the domains of daytime dysfunction (1.86 ± 0.85), subjective sleep quality (1.47 ± 0.71), and sleep latency (1.41 ± 0.88). The profile presented suggests that the main sleep problems in the sample are related to behavioral and academic factors; in contrast, more serious clinical problems, such as dependence on sleep medication, do not appear to be frequent. It becomes imperative that higher education institutions develop and implement education programs on sleep hygiene and stress management strategies.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Juan Upegui Passos, Pietra Dayrell Drummond Saadi, João Victor Nascimento de Sousa, Lucas Henrique Costa Morais, Ana Paula Machado da Rocha
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