European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Junior doctors (Interns, & residents) are at greater risk of sleep deprivation because they work in shifts and for extended hours.Though traditionally workings for long hours have been thought to enhance the medical educational experience, these long and erratic work hours lead to acute and chronic sleep deprivationObjectives: To assess the sleep quality of junior doctors and in addition to finding the factors influencing and outcome for the same. Materials & Methods: Across-sectional study was doneby interns, junior residents, and senior residents from various departments of a Tertiary care hospital in South India.The instruments consisted of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a questionnaire containing the demographic details and factors associated with sleep quality. Results:There were a total of 114 Junior doctors and the mean age of the study participants was 23.18 (1.3), out of which more than half (56.1%) were males.The participants were classified into ‘Good Sleepers’ & ‘Bad sleepers’ based on the PQSI score out of which 60 doctors (52%) were classified as Bad Sleepers. Variables such as watching television and taking drugs for sleep and the use of Caffeinated beverages did not yield any statistical significance (p>0.05) in our study. Conclusion: The study highlighted that junior doctors, in general, are not getting adequate sleep and it is vital to increase awareness of good sleep hygiene among them to improve their performances otherwise it can lead to adverse consequences in both their professional as well as personal lives.