Dados do Trabalho

Título

SLEEP HETEROGENEITY AMONG THE DIFFERENT STUDENTS

Introdução

College years are believed to be those in which sleep is most neglected, whereas several studies have shown that sleep quality has consequences for learning. We made a comparative study with students of three different college courses to study this matter.

Objetivo

This research was developed to compare excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep quality among undergraduate students of Law, Civil Engineering and Medicine. Also we performed the correlation between course load, sleepiness and sleep quality.

Métodos

A cross-sectional study was carried out at a University Center. The students filled out the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESE), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSRI) and a simplified sociodemographic questionnaire. The analyzes were done in the semesters with the heaviest course load, which was requested to the coordination of the course. Descriptive analyzes were performed (frequencies, means and standard deviations), the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was calculated for sleepiness levels and sleep quality for the three courses, followed by the Test T. Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, to compare sleep quality with the compulsory course load. Statistically significant values were considered when p <0.05.

Resultados

The sample (mean age: 22.27, SD=4.47) consisted of 55 Law students, 107 Civil Engineering and 167 medical students. The results showed that the average daytime sleepiness was 11.58 points (SD=3.77) for Law, 10.55 (SD=3.42) for Civil Engineering and 11.10 (SD=3.33) for Medicine. As for sleep quality, the results were 8.77 (SD=2.18), 7.17 (SD=2.18) and 8.62 (SD=2.55), respectively. No significant differences were found in sleepiness (f=1.13; p>0.05), while in sleep quality there were significant differences (f=8.15; p<0.00).
The course load and sleep quality were not correlated in Law (r=-0.05; p>0.05), Civil Engineering (r=-0.09; p>0.05) and Medicine (r=0.17; p>0.05).

Conclusões

The study showed no significant differences in sleepiness among students of the 3 courses, however all individuals had high levels of daytime sleepiness. In terms of sleep quality, as Civil Engineering students have the best sleep quality, while in Medicine and Law there was no significant difference. The research also revealed that it is not possible to correlate the course load with sleepiness and sleep quality.

Palavras-chave

Sleep. Academics. Sleep questionnaires. Epworth. Pittsburgh.