Stress and Sleep Difficulties in a Sample of Medical Students, Ain-Shams University

Abstract

Introduction: Background Becoming a medical doctor is a highly complex process. High incidence of stress disorders among medical students was reported. Psychological stress is a triggering factor for insomnia and has a bidirectional association with poor sleep quality. the relationship between stress and sleep difficulties among medical students should be assessed and evaluated as it may affect Academic achievement, and cause difficulty in concentration, tiredness, headache, bad appetite, disturbed bowel habits and tiredness and weakness during daytime, To raise the awareness about the importance of good sleep quality for health and academic achievement Objective To measure stress among medical students, determine pattern of sleep difficulties and to find relationship between stress and sleep quality among medical students. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study, Questionnaire based, convenience sample. The sample consisted of 300 undergraduate medical students at Faculty of Medicine, Ain-Shams University, Egypt from January 2019 to March 2020. All students fulfilling the inclusion criteria were offered to participate in the study by using GHQ, PSQI, MSSQ & SCID I Results 300 medical students were recruited in this study; their mean age were 21.4 ± 2.3 year ranging from 17-30 years. 40 % (n = 120) of them were males & 60% (n = 180) were females. 98% (n = 294) of the study sample were single and 4.7% of students (n = 14) were smoker. 50.7% (n = 152) had one or more hobbies. Females reported higher Mean ± SD than males in all MSSQ domains except Drive & desire related stressors. There was statistically significant difference regarding female gender was reported. Conclusion There is high prevalence of stress and poor sleep quality in medical school students. Strong association between sleep quality and stress was found. Medical students need to be educated about sleep hygiene and stress management programs to emphasize on study skills, time management, healthy lifestyles, and effective coping strategies. Conflicts of Interest None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose. Abbreviations PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; GHQ: General health Questionnaire; MSSQ: medical students stress scale