Effect of Sleep Quality on Academic Performance and Class Attendance of Medical Students during Ramadan

Abstract

Background: Fasting is an important part of many religions and it may affect sleep and health of the individuals.

Objective: To determine sleep quality of medical students in the month of Ramadan and associate this relation to their academic performance and class attendance.

Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical students in Central Park Medical College, Lahore, from 1^st April to 1^st June, 2022. Demographic data including gender, age, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were collected. Academic performance and class attendance of students during and after Ramadan were compared with all scores of PSQI. The association between PSQI score and academic achievement and attendance in class was determined using Pearson's Chi square. A p-value of ≤0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: The average PSQI score was 9.91±3.07. The average attendance and test results of the participants in the month of Ramadan was 71.45±4.24 (in %) and 62.23±4.32 SD (in %) respectively. The average attendance and test result of the participants after the month of Ramadan was 80.26±7.29 (in %) and 84.76 ± 5.94 SD (in %) respectively. Pearson product moment correlation showed that correlation between the average attendance and the average results during the Ramadan was statistically insignificant (p=0.14) while the correlation between the average attendance and the average result after the Ramadan was statistically highly significant (p=0.00).

Conclusion: Our study concluded that poor sleep quality of students in Ramadan affects their academic performance and class attendance.