Journal of sleep researchNov 27, 2021

How common and what influences strong daytime sleepiness in healthcare students in Brazil's Midwest

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 2, 2026

Abstract

The prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness was 54.4% among 1,779 healthcare university students.

Severe excessive daytime sleepiness was observed in 10.0% of the participants.
Women exhibited a higher probability of experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness with a prevalence ratio of 1.37.
Younger students were also more likely to report excessive daytime sleepiness, with a prevalence ratio of 1.23.
Students studying medicine showed a prevalence ratio of 1.14 for excessive daytime sleepiness compared to other fields.
Poor sleep quality was linked to a prevalence ratio of 1.29 for excessive daytime sleepiness.
A constant loss of sleep due to internet use was associated with a prevalence ratio of 1.14 for excessive daytime sleepiness.

Simplified

The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of, and factors associated with excessive and severe daytime sleepiness in healthcare university students. A cross-sectional university-based study was conducted with 1,779 students from a university located in the Brazilian Midwest State of Goiás, Brazil, in 2018. Daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and classified as excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS; cut-off ESS score ≥10) and severe EDS (S-EDS; cut-off ESS score ≥16). Associated factors included sociodemographic, behavioural, academic, nutritional status, and sleep-related and perceived health characteristics. Poisson regression was used for the data analysis. The mean (SD) age of the sample was 22.5 (3.84) years. The prevalence of EDS was 54.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 51.9-56.1) and S-EDS was 10.0% (95% CI 9.2-11.7). After adjustment, a higher probability of occurrence of EDS was found among women (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.37, 95% CI 1.24-1.53), younger students (PR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07-1.42), those who were studying medicine (PR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.28), with poor sleep quality (PR 1.29, 95% CI 1.17-1.43), and among those who reported constant loss of sleep due to internet use (PR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.27). After adjustment, the highest probability of occurrence of S-EDS was found among women (PR 1.72, 95% CI 1.22-2.43), among those with poor sleep quality (PR 2.17, 95% CI 1.54-3.08), and medical students (PR 1.39, 95% CI 1.01-1.90). In conclusion, there was a high prevalence of daytime sleepiness among healthcare university students, especially among medical students and women.

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How common and what influences strong daytime sleepiness in healthcare students in Brazil's Midwest

Abstract

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