Excessive daytime sleepiness among attending physicians: a pilot survey study at an academic institution

The purpose of this study is to assess excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) among attending physicians. Emails with an embedded link to an IRB approved questionnaire were sent to attending physicians of two closely affiliated academic institutions. An online hospital directory was used to compile a list of active attending physicians who practiced clinical medicine. Two additional reminder emails, about 2 weeks apart, were also sent. Data were collected anonymously and participation was voluntary. Three hundred fifteen responses out of 506 emails were returned (responder rate of 62.2%). The average age was 47 years and the majority was married with children. The mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale score was six and only 50 (15.9%) physicians were sleepy with a score of >10. Only working longer hours (p=0.014), habitual napping (p=0.01) and the feeling of not getting enough sleep (p=0.01) significantly correlated with daytime sleepiness. Hours at work, however, did not correlate with hours of sleep, and the latter surprisingly did not correlate with sleepiness. Physicians in our sample were slightly more sleep deprived than the general population but not as sleep deprived as resident physicians.