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The relationship between sleep habits and academic performance in dental medicine students in Croatia

Increased psychological pressure and academic demands can lead to impaired quality and duration of sleep. Numerous studies have shown that students with more regular sleep-wake patterns report higher grade point average (GPA), whereas students with lower grades report increased daytime sleepiness as a consequence of decreased sleep duration. Among different student populations, medical students received particular attention in sleep research because of high academic demands and increased workload. Similarly, doctor of dental medicine (D.M.D.) curriculum is demanding due to both declarative and procedural learning tasks, which are impaired by sleep deprivation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sleep habits of dental students and the relationship between sleep habits and academic performance. A self-administered questionnaire on sleep habits, academic performance and lifestyle, was administered. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 58 questions. The participants were 447 dental students from Split University Dental Medicine School and Zagreb University Dental Medicine School of the six academic years. The subjects were classified in two groups based on academic success, as high (highest quintile, GPA > 4.3) or low academic performance (lowest quintile, GPA < 3.5) group. Our study indicated a clear association of sleep habits with self-reported academic performance of dental students. Students with high academic performance had earlier bedtimes on weekdays and weekends, earlier wake time on weekends, and shorter sleep latency, compared to students with low academic performance. Circadian rhythm with earlier bedtime and wake time sleep period appears to be of more importance than total sleep time, in respect to academic performance.

sleep habits; academic performance; dental medicine students

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