PREVALENCE OF SLEEP INERTIA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND DEPRESSION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Objective:

1. To investigate the prevalence of sleep inertia by (SIQ), among medical students.
2. To assess the level of physical activity by using the (IPAQ-SF), among medical students.
3. To determine the prevalence of depression by using the (DASS-21), among medical students.
4. To investigate whether physical activity moderates the relationship between sleep inertia and depression among medical students.

Methodology: The sample size of the study was 300 medical students (1826 years old) in medical colleges in Karachi. Validated questionnaires, SIQ, IPAQ-SF, and DASS-21, were also filled out by medical students. The students who had neurological, psychiatric or diagnosed sleep disorders were not considered. The SPSS-22 was used to analyze the data based on the descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Out of 300 participants, the majority were females (72.7%), with the age range of 21-23 years (55.2%). The most prevalent ones were moderate physical activity (47.8%), moderate sedentary behavior (38.3%), and moderate sleep inertia (50.3%). Regression analysis revealed significant predictive factors of stress, anxiety, and depression in predicting sleep inertia with the model as a whole being significant (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The sleep inertia is common among the medical students and closely linked with depressive symptoms and physical inactivity. Physical activity and mental health promotion can enhance the functioning and academic performance of students.