Sleep Disorder and its Effect on Academic Performance of Medical Students in Jos, North Central Nigeria

Background: Sleep disorder is common among clinical students due to the amount of information they must assimilate in order to pass prescribed examinations. This study examined the prevalence of sleep disorder in medical students in Jos, north-central Nigeria, and its impact on academic performance. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on final-year medical students at Jos University Teaching Hospital in Plateau State, north central Nigeria. The SLEEP-50, Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Emotional Stability Test - Big Five Version were used to identify sleep disorder, daytime sleepiness as well as emotional stability respectively. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between sleep disorder and academic performance as well as other factors that affects academic performance. Results: A total of 141 students responded to the 158 questionnaires that were distributed. Their ages ranged from 23 to 46 years, with a mean of 27.0 ± 2.9 years. There was a female: male ratio of 1:2 with female respondents being 25.9 ±1.4 years old on average and male respondents being 27.5 ±3.3 years old on average. About half of the respondents had sleep disorder; narcolepsy being the most common type of sleep disorder, while sleep-walking was the least common. Circadian rhythm sleep disorder was associated with poor academic performance (OR 0.050, 95% CI 0.009 – 0.293, P= 0.001). Conclusion: Sleep disorder is common among medical students in north-central Nigeria and circadian rhythm sleep disorder is associated with poor academic performance. Their academic performance will improve if sleep disorder is recognized and treated