Sleep Assessment and Perceived Stress Amongst Medical Postgraduate Residents

Abstract

Background: Medical graduates who enter into residency programmes form the backbone of the healthcare delivery system of the country. They are often expected to work for long hours which leads to sleep deprivation and increase in the perceived stress levels. Chronic sleep deprivation leads to destruction of sleep architecture. It may also compromise patient care. We examine the relationship between these two variables through this study.
 Material and methods: 50 resident doctors from different specialties of medicine were administered three validated questionnaires: the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Cohen’s perceived stress scale (PSS-10) to assess the daytime sleepiness, sleep quality and perceived stress levels respectively.
 Result: A total of 56% residents reported greater than average scores on the ESS (Mean score=11.02 + 5.5161, Range= 1-24). On the PSQI, 78% residents reported poor sleep quality (Mean score=6.98 + 3.146, range= 0-15) whereas on the PSS-10, 84% of the residents reported moderate to high levels of perceived stress (Mean score=19.16+7.138, range=3-37). Significant correlation was found between ESS and CPSS (Pearson coefficient=0.4738, p<0.01) as well as PSQI and CPSS (Pearson coefficient=0.3024, p<0.05). It is hypothesised that there is a causal relationship between daytime sleepiness perceived stress levels as well as sleep quality and perceived stress levels.
 KEYWORDS: Sleep deprivation, Perceived stress, Stress levels, Epworth Sleepiness scale, sleep quality.

Assessment of Determinants of Sleep Deprivation amongst Post Graduate Students of Government Medical College, Amritsar

“…The mean value of ESS was 9.07±3.85.Our study was comparable with studies conducted by Siddalingaiah HS et al and by Sharma A et al, where the prevalence of daytime sleepiness among post graduate students was 47.4% and 33.3% respectively .8,9 Average sleep time: According to the Mayo clinic, the average sleep time of adults should be between 7-9 hrs and total time less than 7 hours is considered as insufficient sleep or sleep deprivation. 10 The present study has indicated that 182 (66%) post graduate students had<7hrs of sleep which is comparable with the study conducted by Garg S 10 In the present study majority (62%) of sleep deprived post graduate students were doing night duties whereas opposite trend was observed among non-sleep deprived, where 67% were not doing night duties. This difference was found to be statistically significant..…”

Effect of Altered Sleep, Perceived Stress on Muscle Strength between Night and Day Shift Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chennai

“…Stress decreases muscle power due to its catabolic effect on muscle proteins. A strong relationship exists between the decreased quality of sleep, more daytime sleep, and high perceived stress (Ajgaonkar et al, 2019). Since the stress system is essential for coping with demanding environments, it is crucial to evaluate how disrupted sleep affects this system and how both perceived stress and sleep loss affect muscle function.…”

Poor quality sleep is associated with greater carotid intima media thickness among otherwise healthy resident doctors

“…Literature regarding the assessment of sleep quality among medical residents is limited (23)(24)(25)(26). Available studies show that 45% to 90% of medical residents report poor sleep quality.…”

“…Available studies show that 45% to 90% of medical residents report poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality has been associated with fatigue, memory lapses, perceived stress, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome and depression among medical residents (23)(24)(25). Considering the inclusive nature of "sleep quality", it is possible that sleep quality might influence the CIMT among medical residents, as has been observed among middle-aged women (27).…”