Abstract
Objectives:Sleep is a vital component for overall health and well-being, and it plays an essential role in social, physical, psychological, and cognitive health. This study aimed to appraise the sleep quality in medical and science students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:This questionnaire-based cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during September-December 2020. In this study, a validated self-administered electronic questionnaire was distributed to 1000 students, 782 (78.2%) of whom completed the study. The selection of students was based on using the stratified random sampling. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) instrument scale was used to assess the sleep quality among medical and general sciences students.Results:Out of 782 respondents, 410 (52.4%) were medical students, and 372 (47.6%) were science students, including Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics, Botany, and Zoology. Among the medical students, 143 (34.9%) were in pre-clinical years (1st and 2nd), while 266 (64.9%) of them were in clinical years (3rd, 4th, and 5th). Among all medical and general sciences students, it was found that 669 (85.5%) had poor sleep quality with a mean PSQI global score (mean 8.356) among them 336 (50.2%) were medical, and 333 (49.8%) were science students. Science students’ sleep quality was poorer (mean 8.78) than their medical counterparts (mean= 7.93).Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant negative impact on students’ mental health and sleep quality. Both medical and general science students showed alarming levels of sleep deprivation and concerning low sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sleep deprivation among students may be due to the sudden change of pedagogy in education driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep quality is quite a critical issue to be evaluated and addressed nationally and globally.
Highlights
The “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, known as COVID-19 pandemic”, has developed an alarming unique circumstance worldwide.[1]
143 (34.9%) were in pre-clinical years (1st and 2nd), while 266 (64.9%) of them were in clinical years 3rd, 4th, and 5th-year medical students (Table-I)
It was seen that the sleep quality of science students was poorer (Mean Global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score= 8.78) than their medical counterparts (Table-II)
Summary
The “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, known as COVID-19 pandemic”, has developed an alarming unique circumstance worldwide.[1]. Pak J Med Sci March - April 2022 Vol 38 No 3 www.pjms.org.pk 639 implemented to control the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, including Saudi Arabia. These measures included an entire country lock-down for several months to combat the spread of the virus. Universities and schools were closed, students switched to virtual classes and were allowed to attend the campus for their practical lessons. This swift shift changes the regular sleep pattern and remaining activities of life.[2]
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