Sleep Quality and the Level of Perceived Stress in Medical Students

Bartosz Bagrowski; Joanna Gutowska

doi:10.18290/rpsych2022.0005

Bartosz Bagrowski Faculty of Social Studies, University of Security in Poznań, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7402-8418
Joanna Gutowska Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rpsych2022.0005

Keywords: sleep disturbances, sleep quality, stress level, sympathetic nervous system,, circadian rhythm

Abstract

Sleep is a very important aspect of human life, as it is responsible for regulation of the circadian cycle, body regeneration and reduction of harmful metabolites. Sleep deprivation can be associated with chronic stress, which can have an extremely negative impact on bodily function. The presented study covered 220 students of medical faculties; their correlations between the sleep quality and the level of perceived stress were analyzed. Sleep quality was measured using the PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and perceived stress was measured using PSS-10 (10-Item Perceived Stress Scale). A high correlation was shown between the PSQI and PSS-10 results (r_s = 0.60), which means that people who were characterized by a low sleep quality also showed a high level of perceived stress. Among the PSQI components that were the most correlated with PSS-10, can be counted in such components as C1 (subjective sleep quality, r_s = 0.50), C2 (sleep latency, r_s = 0.51), and C7 (daytime dysfunctions, r_s = 0.52). Mobile phone usage at bedtime has also been demonstrated to correlate with poor sleep quality. The study shows a significant relationship between sleep quality and the level of perceived stress, which has also been shown in other studies.

References

Ackermann, S., Cordi, M., La Marca, R., Seifritz, E., & Rasch, B. (2019). Psychosocial stress before a nap increases sleep latency and decreases early slow-wave activity. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 20. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2019.00020

Almojali, A. I., Almalki, S. A., Alothman, A. S., Masuadi, E. M., & Alaqeel, M. K. (2017). The prevalence and association of stress with sleep quality among medical students. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3), 169–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2017.04.005

Alotaibi, A. D., Alosaimi, F. M., Alajlan, A. A., & Abdulrahman, K. A. (2020). The relationship between sleep quality, stress, and academic performance among medical students. Journal of Family & Community Medicine, 27(1), 23–28. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfcm.JFCM_132_19

Alshobaili, F. A., & Al-Yousefi, N. A. (2019). The effect of smartphone usage at bedtime on sleep quality among Saudi non-medical staff at King Saud University Medical City. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 8(6), 1953–1957. https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fjfmpc.jfmpc_269_19

Anderson, K. N., & Bradley, A. J. (2013). Sleep disturbance in mental health problems and neurodegenerative disease. Nature and Science of Sleep, 5, 61–75. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S34842

Bagrowski, B. (2018). Szkodliwy wpływ długotrwałego stresu na stan układu ruchu [Harmful influence of long-lasting stress on the condition of motor system]. Edukacja Biologiczna i Środowiskowa, 3(68), 10–15. https://doi.org/ 10.24131/3247.180302

Bagrowski, B. (2020). Neurobiologia stresu [Neurobiology of stress]. In J. Nyćkowiak & J. Leśny (Eds.), Badania i Rozwój Młodych Naukowców w Polsce: Vol. 5. Nauki medyczne i nauki o zdrowiu (pp. 13–18). Młodzi Naukowcy.

Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396.

Dugiel, G., Tustanowska, B., Kęcka, K., & Jasińska, M. (2012). Przegląd teorii stresu [Overview of theories of stress]. Acta Scientifica Academiae Ostroviensis: Sectio B, 47–70.

Frindt, A., Zoń, A., & Bielański, P. (2006). Stres jako forma zachowania się zwierzęcia [Stress as a form of animal behaviour]. Wiadomości Zootechniczne, 44(1), 15–18.

Goldberg, Z. L., Thomas K. G. F., & Lipinska G. (2020). Bedtime stress increases sleep latency and impairs next-day prospective memory performance. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 756. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00756

Goślińska, J., Graczykowski, M., Hejdysz, K., & Skibiński, K. (2020). Pinoterapia – innowacyjna polska metoda [Pinotherapy – An innovative Polish method]. Rehabilitacja w Praktyce, 2, 14–22.

Guilford, J. P. (1973). Fundamental statistics in psychology and education. McGraw-Hill.

Hayashida, T., Shimura, A., Higashiyama, M., Fujimura, Y., Ono, K., & Inoue, T. (2021). Psychosomatic stress responses and sleep disturbance mediate the effects of irregular mealtimes on presenteeism. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 17, 315–321. https://doi.org/ 10.2147/NDT.S292249

Heitzman, J. (2009). Zaburzenia snu – przyczyna czy skutek depresji? [Sleep disturbances – cause or result of depression?]. Psychiatria Polska, 43(5), 499–511.

Herawati, K., & Gayatri, D. (2019). The correlation between sleep quality and levels of stress among students in Universitas Indonesia. Enfermería Clínica, 29(2), 357–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enfcli.2019.04.044

Hobson, J. A. (2005). Sleep is of the brain, by the brain and for the brain. Nature, 437(7063), 1254–1256.

Jaworek, J., Leja-Szpak, A., Nawrot-Porąbka, K., Szklarczyk, J., Kot, M., Pierzchalski, P., Góralska, M., Ceranowicz, P., Warzecha, Z., Dembinski, A., & Bonior, J. (2017). Effects of melatonin and its analogues on pancreatic inflammation, enzyme secretion, and tumorigenesis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18(5), 1014. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18051014

Kalmbach, D. A., Anderson, J. R., & Drake, C. L. (2018). The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders. Journal of Sleep Research, 27(6), e12710. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12710

Kim, E. J., & Dimsdale, J. E. (2007). The effect of psychosocial stress on sleep: A review of polysomnographic evidence. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 5(4), 256–278. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15402000701557383

Kosticova, M., Geckova, A. M., Dobiasova, E., & Veselska, Z. D. (2019). Insufficient sleep duration is associated with worse self-rated health and more psychosomatic health complaints in adolescents. Bratislavske Lekarske Listy, 120(10), 783–788. https://doi.org/10.4149/bll_2019_131

Kroese, F. M., De Ridder, D. T. D., Evers, C., & Adriaanse, M. A. (2014). Bedtime procrastination: Introducing a new area of procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 611. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00611

Munezawa, T., Kaneita, Y., Osaki, Y., Kanda, H., Minowa, M., Suzuki, K., Higuchi, S., Mori, J., Yamamoto, R., & Ohida, T. (2011). The association between use of mobile phones after lights out and sleep disturbances among Japanese adolescents: A nationwide cross-sectional survey. Sleep, 34(8), 1013–1020. https://doi.org/10.5665/SLEEP.1152

Pereira, D., & Elfering, A. (2014). Social stressors at work, sleep quality and psychosomatic health complaints—a longitudinal ambulatory field study. Stress and Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 30(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2494

Rafique, N., Al–Asoom, L. I., Alsunni, A. A., Saudagar, F. N., Almulhim, L., & Alkaltham, G. (2020). Effects of mobile use on subjective sleep quality. Nature and Science of Sleep, 12, 357–364. https://doi.org/10.2147%2FNSS.S253375

Roscoe, J. T. (1975). Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral science. (2nd ed.). Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Sandi, C., & Haller, J. (2015), Stress and the social brain: Behavioural effects and neurobiological mechanisms. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 16(5), 290–304. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3918

Selye, H. (1950). Stress and the general adaptation syndrome. British Medical Journal, 1(4667), 1383–1392 . https:// doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmj.1.4667.1383

Westermeyer, J., Khawaja, I., Freerks, M., Sutherland, R. J., Engle, K., Johnson, D., Thuras, P., Rossom, R., & Hurwitz, T. (2010). Correlates of daytime sleepiness in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and sleep disturbance. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 12(2), PCC.07m00563. https://doi.org/10.4088%2FPCC.07m00563gry

Zakaria, R., Ahmad, A. H., & Othman, Z. (2016). The potential role of melatonin on memory function: Lessons from rodent studies. Folia Biologica, 62, 181–187. https://fb.cuni.cz/volume-62-2016-no-5#articFB2016A0022