DOI: 10.36347/sasjm

Pages: 182-185

Medical students are exposed to variety of stressors during the course of their study. The study aimed to prospectively assess the sleep quality of newly joined medical students and to compare their initial sleep quality with that after 10 weeks. The study was conducted in Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences, Karwar, Karnataka. Prospective sleep quality of the students was assessed using Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaire. Assessment was done initially in the 1st week of October 2016 and again after 10 weeks in the last week of Dec 2016. On comparing the average scoring of various components of PSQI of the participants during initial and after 10 weeks statistically insignificant difference is noted. Improvement in global PSQI score was seen in 39.67% of participants. On the contrary, deterioration in global PSQI score was noted in 41.32%. 19.01% of them showed no change. There is no significant difference in the prevalence of poor sleep quality after 10 weeks. But the subgroup of participants with global PSQI score ≥5 did not remain the same after 10 weeks. Sleep disturbance among newly joined medical students could be due to variety of stressors in the due course of their academics. Counseling and close monitoring is required to reduce stress experienced by these students.