Sleep-Wake Patterns and Sleep Problems in University Students, including Medical Students

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Changing of sleep-wake patterns among university students will effect their academic performance and achievement. Despite its importance, there were very few Thai review articles on this topic.
Objective: The aims of this article are to review the sleep-wake patterns, the amount of sleep during weekdays and weekends, excessive daytime sleepiness and academic achievement
of university students.
Results: Results have shown that most students sleep less during weekdays and get up late on weekends. They assess themselves as having inadequate amount of sleep. Factors which are associated with their poor quality of sleep such as going to bed very late, no definite time to take a rest and anxiety about their study. Students who had a poor quality of sleep would have lower academic achievement than those who had a good quality of sleep. Students who experienced excessive daytime sleepiness would also have lower academic achievement than those who did not experience daytime sleepiness. Moreover, sleep-deprived students would have lower scores on cognitive tasks, decreased concentration and an increased risk of errors when performing psychomotor tasks than students who had an adequate amount of sleep.
Conclusion: Promoting good sleep hygiene and adapting the learning environment to suit the studentsû sleep-wake patterns should lead to a better quality of sleep, resulting in good academic achievement. Further research on medical students in this area is recommended.