Objective:

To establish the status of sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in undergraduate students of different careers at a public University in Manizales during the first semester of 2016.

Method:

A cross-sectional descriptive study, in which 547 students voluntarily participated in the research was carried out. The instruments used were the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESE) and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To compare the different averages of the total scores between male and female students, the Student t-test for independent means (or the Mann-Whitney U, in case there was no normality in the data) was used. Dependence between qualitative variables was determined by Pearson’s Chi-square test.

Results:

The sample was composed by 258 women (47.2%) and 289 men (52.8%), whose mean ages and standard deviations were 22.9 years and 3.8 years for men, and 20 years, 9 years and 2.7 years for women. It was found that, in general, students tend to have a quality of sleep that deserves medical attention and treatment (77.1%). It was also found that 70.3% show mild or moderate somnolence.

Conclusion:

Poor sleep quality and associated daytime sleepiness occur in different careers and disciplines, and not only in health undergraduates. Early intervention is required as well as more education in relation to sleep hygiene.

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