effects of sleep quality on the academic performance of undergraduate medical students

Background: medical students are exposed to a significant level of pressure because of their academic demands. thus, they are at increased risk for sleep disorders. objectives: this study was conducted to examine the prevalence of sleep disturbance among medical students and investigate any relationship between sleep disorder and academic performance. materials and methods: this work is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. participants of this study consisted of first-, second-, and third-year medical students. the pittsburgh sleep quality index (psqi) was adopted to identify sleep disorder, and the grade point average of the students was recorded for academic performance. results: a total of 177 respondents, with a response rate of 55%, were obtained. according to the psqi score, 36.6% of participants were considered to have abnormal sleep habits, with a statistically significant increase in female students (p < 0.05). abnormal psqi scores were associated with lower academic achievement (p < 0.05). marital status, habitat, smoking and physical activity were also associated with psqi scores. conclusions: a high prevalence of sleep disorder was found in this population, specifically among female students. analysis of the relationship between sleep disorder and academic performance indicates a significant relationship of psqi scores with marital status, habitat, smoking, physical activity, and academic performance.