Poor sleep quality among IIUM medical students; a cross-sectional study

• Main Authors: Anuar, Muhammad Ashraf Fithri, Razman, Amalia Izzati, Abdullah, Muhammad Haikal, Ahmad Ashhar, Muhammad Ikmal Arif, Ahmad Haridan, Ahmad Zhareff Emir, Nor Azlan, Nur Khairunnisa, Mohamad, Mohammad Muaz, Shahrir, Shahida Athirah, Shaik Mohd Nizam, Nur Alia Iman, Johari, Muhammad Luqman ‘Afif, Zulkifli, Ahmad Najmi Abid, Zamani, Muhammad Razin, Mohd Azani, Muhammad Adam, Mohd Radzuan, Hazulin, Abd. Rahim, Nour El Huda, Saharudin, Shahida, Wan Omar, Wan Fatein Nabeila
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English; English; English; English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: QP Physiology; RA790 Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/1/EPoster_Ashraf.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/2/IUMRC%202021_presentation%20Ashraf.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/3/IUMRC%202021_FRONT%20COVER.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/4/IUMRC%202021_Ashraf.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/28/WhatsApp%20Image%202021-11-12%20at%204.48.58%20PM.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93708/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Good quality sleep plays an integral role to ensure optimal physical as well as mental health, especially among medical students. Given the surge in COVID-19 cases, with the closure of universities around the globe, students are obliged to adapt to online learning which poses new sets of challenges that may negatively impact their quality of sleep. This study aimed to evaluate sleep quality among preclinical medical students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study involving 158 Year 1 and Year 2 medical students of IIUM. The study protocol was approved by the institution research committee (Research ID: 735). We assessed their sleep quality over the past one month using an online self-administered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. We analysed the data using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). In general, the average global PSQI score was 8.08 (3.59). Almost three- quarters of the subjects (n=117) experienced poor sleep quality (PSQI global score >5). Amongst all PSQI components, sleep latency scored the highest mean of 2.37 (1.99). Additionally, there was no significant difference in sleep quality between Year 1 and Year 2 medical students (p=0.273). Subjects with poor sleep are prone to negative psychological effects that are related to the lockdown restriction during the pandemic. Further decline in sleep quality can lead to unhealthy practices such as unhealthy diet and nutrition and sedentary lifestyle. Based on our study, there was a significant proportion of IIUM preclinical medical students with poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial to further investigate the factors contributing to their poor sleep quality and introduce measures to rectify the problem. Especially, as future healthcare providers should advocate on healthy lifestyles, inclusive of good sleep quality.