Association between duration of sleep and Epworth score in male medical students

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To assess daytime sleepiness in the male medical students aged 18-25 years and to relate their Epworth score with their mean duration of sleep. Methodology: This randomized cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from March 1, 2010 to March 1, 2011 on 56 male medical students aged 18-25 years. A standardized English Language questionnaire consisting of 29 questions was completed including lifestyle factors and sleep habits. The open ended items consisted of sleep duration, number of awakenings at night and duration of exercise. There was choice for questions that best described their situation like dream remembering, mode of awakening and morning tiredness. In order to assess daytime sleepiness the Epworth sleepiness scale was applied. Results: The degree of daytime sleepiness increased with the decrease in mean duration of sleep. The mean Epworth score of mean duration of sleep of 415±74.606 min was 4 (p=0.000). In adult male students with mean duration of sleep of 400.38±62.179 min, the mean Epworth score was 7 (p=0.000). Those with mean duration of sleep of 371.67±79.791min, the mean Epworth score was 12 (p=0.000). Conclusion: In the adult age group, degree of daytime sleepiness was significantly negatively related to their night time sleep duration. Key words: Adults, daytime sleepiness, Epworth score