Sleep quality among medical students under problem-based learning method

Abstract

Sleep disorders are common among adults and students of Medicine and can have an impact on daily activities, both academic and professional. Study Model: Cross-sectional. Objective and Method: This study intended to evaluate the quality of sleep of 157 students of Medicine from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of the Catholic Pontificial University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Ciências Médicas e da Saúde da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo). Two main instruments were used to achieve that, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), both selfapplicable questionnaires. Results: The average of sleep duration in the sample was 6,8 hours. Poor sleep quality (characterized by PSQI > 5) was found in 44.59% of individuals. Excessive daytime sleepiness was found in 36.3% of the evaluated subjects. There was no significant difference of the PSQI scores between sexes, academic year or age groups. Daytime sleepiness was higher among women. Hypnotic drug use was reported by 6.9% of the sample. Conclusion: The prevalence of sleep disorders found among medical students was high, without important predilection towards sex or age group.