Association between poor sleep hygiene practices, sleep deprivation, and their effects on medical students of Karachi: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

<b>Objectives:</b> This study was conducted to investigate the poor sleep hygiene practices of medical students, causing sleep deprivation, and any negative effects on physical and cognitive health of the adult population in Karachi.<br /> <b>Participant:</b> The participant for this study were the medical students enrolled in six medical colleges in Karachi during 2021-2022.<br /> <b>Methods</b>: The data was collected from 200 medical students using questionnaire based survey. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. t-test and Chi-square (χ2) test was used for the best data analysis. P-value of &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant in case of comparative analysis.<br /> <b>Results:</b> The majority students did not follow sleep hygiene protocols. Concerning the psychological and cognitive effects of poor sleep hygiene practices, more than 76% participants reported feeling sleep deprived, and experienced physical symptoms.<br /> <b>Conclusion:</b> Our findings support the use of sleep-hygiene awareness as a prevention strategy to improve university students’ sleep practices, preventing sleep deprivation.