Sleep patterns and its association with self-reported academic performance among MBBS students of a medical college in West Bengal, India

Abstract

Background: Regular, adequate sleep is necessary for proper functioning of body and mind. Sleep disturbances among undergraduate medical students are common, and can affect the academic performance of these students. Objectives: To assess the sleep patterns and its association with perceived academic performance among the of undergraduate MBBS students of a medical college in West Bengal, India. Methodology: The study was conducted among 214 undergraduate medical students of a Bankura Sammilani Medical College, West Bengal. Subjects, selected by stratified random sampling, were interviewed using pretested, validated, structured schedule. Analysis was done using IBM SPSS 22 trial version. Results: About 14.5% subjects perceived inadequate amount of sleep throughout the day. Students rated the quality of sleep as very poor (2.3%), poor (6.1%), average (34.1%), good (40.7%), very good (16.8%). The subjects perceived their academic performance as very poor (4.7%), poor (14.4%), average (63.6%), good (16.4%) and very good (0.9%). Time taken to fall asleep, time of waking up in the morning, feeling difficulty going back to sleep after waking up mid-sleep, feeling sleepy during academic hours, feeling sleepy during study hours, perceived duration and quality of sleep had statistically significant association with academic performance reported by the students. Conclusion: Irregular, inadequate and poor quality of sleep are common among undergraduate medical students, and are often associated with poor academic performance

Keywords

• sleeping habits
• academic performance
• education
• medical
• graduate