Prevalence of Sleep Disturbance Potential-Associated Factors among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Saudi Arabia

Many studies across the globe have observed the significant effect of sleep disturbance on the academic achievement of medical students. Objective: This research was conducted to define the prevalence of sleep disturbance and to discover the consequences and management of this condition among undergraduate pharmacy students of Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences (MACHS).

We conducted a questionnaire-based online survey among different levels of MACHS pharmacy students.

A total of 165 students participated in the study, of whom 132 (80%) were females and 33 (20%) were males. Most of the participants, 142 (86.06%), were staying with their parents, whereas few of them were staying alone (23; 13.94%). While a handful of them, 29 (17.58%), did not have their bedrooms, most of them had their bedrooms (136; 82.42%). When asked about drinking caffeine-rich products in the afternoon or at night, most of them responded "sometimes" (78; 47.27%), followed by the category "always" (61; 36.97%), "rarely" (15; 9.09%), and then the category of students who responded "not at all" (11; 6.67%). Overall, 35 (21.21%) of the study participants had a smoking habit, 72 (43.63%) tried to treat their sleep disturbance, whereas 42 (25.45%) were getting treatment for insomnia.

Most pharmacy students at MACH College, especially females, have sleep problems. Mostly, the prevalence is common during exam periods, and it mildly affects their grade point average.