Prevalence of Poor Sleep Quality and Associated Factors Among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia

Sleep disturbances are common among medical students, whose demanding academic environment combines heavy workloads, clinical rotations, and frequent examinations. This study examined the prevalence of poor sleep quality and its association with psychological distress, lifestyle factors, and electronic-device use (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and laptops) among medical students in Saudi Arabia.

In this cross-sectional study, 215 medical students from multiple Saudi universities completed an online self-administered questionnaire comprising sociodemographic, social, medical, and psychiatric items, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and questions on electronic-device and screen use. Poor sleep quality was defined as a global PSQI score of >5. Associations were assessed using chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests, independent samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Spearman's rank correlation, with p < 0.05 considered significant.

Poor sleep quality was highly prevalent, affecting 79.1% of participants. Most sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, including age, gender, academic year, smoking, body mass index, and caffeine intake, were not significantly associated with sleep quality. Marital status reached significance (p = 0.043) but was limited by the very small number of married or divorced participants. Late-night device use was significantly associated with poor sleep (p = 0.046). Psychological distress was common (mean K10: 25.87 ± 10.56), with more than half of the students (51.2%) reporting moderate-to-severe distress. Poor sleepers had significantly higher K10 scores than good sleepers (27.65 ± 10.06 vs. 19.13 ± 9.73; p < 0.001) and nearly sixfold higher odds of moderate-to-severe distress (odds ratio: 5.86; 95% CI: 2.65-12.93), and PSQI scores correlated positively with K10 scores (ρ = 0.442; p < 0.001).

Poor sleep quality is highly prevalent among medical students in Saudi Arabia and is associated with greater psychological distress and late-night device use. Structured sleep hygiene programs, guidance on night-time device use, and routine screening for psychological distress are warranted. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference.