Sleep disturbances and stress among foreign medical students at European University, Georgia

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: The present study is the first attempt to assess the stressors associated with students' life, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep arousal and to study the relationship between stress and sleep disturbance among foreign medical students in Georgia. Methodology: Forty-four foreign volunteer students from the European University, Tbilisi, Georgia participated in this study in November 2018. Participants completed Epworth the Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS), and Student-Life Stress Inventory (SLSI), and the data were statistically analysed. Results: ESS scores were slightly higher than the normal value in the general population (7.25 ± 3.00). Students revealed high somatic (13.55 ± 4.39) and cognitive PSAS scores (18.05 ± 6.13) and high overall self-rating (1.95 ± 0.57) and total SLSI scores (143.86 ± 40.33). ESS scores were slightly higher in females (7.86 ± 3.00 vs 6.64 ± 2.94). Females showed higher somatic (13.73 ± 3.71 vs 13.36 ± 5.07) and cognitive PSAS scores (18.36 ± 5.34 vs 17.73 ± 6.94). Overall, self-rating and total SLSI scores were slightly higher among males (2.00 ± 0.69 vs 1.91 ± 0.43 and 146.55 ± 42.48 vs 141.18 ± 38.86, respectively). The differences were not statistically significant. In females, only the cognitive pre-sleep arousal was significantly correlated with ESS (p<0.05), overall self-rating (p<0.05), and total SLSI scores (p<0.05). In males, ESS showed significant correlation with both somatic and cognitive PSAS scores (p<0.05). ESS showed significant association with overall self-rating (p<0.01), which in turn was significantly associated with somatic and cognitive arousal (p<0.05). Both somatic and cognitive arousal were strongly correlated with total SLSI scores (p<0.01). Conclusion: Medical students are at high risk of developing sleep disturbance and psycho-behavioural difficulties. Additional studies are needed to assess the specific relationship among sleep patterns, stress, and academic performance of foreign medical students.