Sleep lifestyle correlate of dizziness among teachers

Introduction  Some studies have shown associations between sleep quality and dizziness. However, this association has not been investigated in teachers. Objective  To verify a possible association between dizziness complaint and sleep quality in teachers. Methods  Cross-sectional study developed with 96 school teachers (mean age of 47.8 ± 9.8 years). To assess dizziness, an audiological assessment was performed, which was the same one used in routine audiological care (Miller protocol). The dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) was applied to those individuals who reported dizziness. To evaluated sleep quality, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index was used. Results  The prevalence of dizziness was 22.9% ( n  = 22). Of these, 77.3% ( n  = 17) were women, 63.6% ( n  = 14) demonstrated poor sleep quality, and 54.5% ( n  = 12) were young adults (27-48 years). In the comparison between the dizziness and the control groups, no statistically significant differences were found ( p > 0.05). The analysis adjusted for the confounding variables showed a difference for men in the sleep efficiency variable ( p  = 0.043); young adults showed a statistically significant difference in the total score ( p  = 0.021) and total sleep time ( p  = 0.029). There was a moderate correlation between DHI and total time in bed ( p  = 0.036, r = 0.497) and DHI and sleep efficiency ( p  = 0.014; r = -0.582). Conclusion  Dizziness influences the quality of sleep in teachers, especially that of the youngest and male patients. There was a moderate correlation between total time in bed, sleep efficiency, and DHI, demonstrating that sleep quality should be considered an important factor in the assessment and rehabilitation process of dizziness.