Journal of Sleep Disorders & Therapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0277
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2167-0277
+44 1478 350008
Arab Hammoudeh, Aya Saad, Maryam Alabbar, Mohammad Ghanaim, Nour Alherafi and Tarek Alzain
Ahmed El-Serafy. University of Sharjah- College of Medicine, UAE
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Sleep Disord Ther
Background: Sleep patterns play a significant role in determining the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. Previous studies revealed the prevalence of sleep disturbance among university students and its effect on their health, and academic performance. Aim: To describe the sleep patterns, determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances, and identify the predictors playing a role in altering sleep patterns among medical students in the University of Sharjah (UOS). Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted in the college of medicine in UOS. 412 students were included in the study. A non-probability quota sampling was followed. A self-administered structured questionnaire with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to conduct this study. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS 21. The predictors of sleep disturbances assessed were stress, study load, caffeine intake, and exercise. Results: Based on the PSQI results, 62.9% of the sample had poor sleep quality (PSQI score>5). According to ESS, 38.1% of the sample had enough sleep (ESS score 1-6), 13.7% had average sleep (ESS score 7-8), and 48.2% were very sleepy and needed medical advice (ESS >9). The majority (69.7%) of the students who experienced a great deal of stress had 5 times the odds of having poor sleep quality OR=5.131 (95% CI: 2.347, 11.216; P<0.001). Almost all (97.0%) of the students claiming that their study load had a major effect on their daily life were 8 times more likely to have poor sleep quality OR=7.784 (95% CI: 1.997, 30.344; P=0.002). Neither caffeine intake nor exercise had any significant relation with poor sleep quality in the sample.
Arab Hammoudeh is a 4th year medical student in the University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. She has done basic research in the fields of epigenetics and immunology, in the field of sleep disturbances, and currently working on a research in the field of cognition and electromagnetic field.
Email: dr.mushabab@gmail.com