Influence of chronotype on sleep quality in medical students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34024/rnc.2025.v33.20050Keywords:
Chronobiology, Medical Students, Sleep QualityAbstract
Introduction. Chronotype is characterized by individual preferences for activity and alertness throughout the day. It is intrinsically linked to the sleep-wake cycle, with strong genetic influences. In the academic environment, chronotype and individual needs that enable better sleep quality tend to be neglected to meet academic and social demands, which may compromise academic performance and health of the students. Objective. To investigate the influence of chronotype on sleep quality in medical students. Method. This is a cross-sectional and analytical study involving 176 undergraduate medical students from the 1st to the 6th year of the Medical degree at the Lagarto Campus of the Federal University of Sergipe. Chronotype and sleep quality were assessed using the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI - BR), respectively. Data were analyzed using the Chi-Square test, considering a significant level of 5%. Results. The intermediate chronotype was the most prevalent, representing 45.4% of the sample, followed by the morning chronotype (36.9%) and the evening chronotype (17.6%). Only 30 students had good sleep quality, while 117 showed poor sleep quality, and 24 exhibited sleep disorders according to the PSQI global score. A significant association was identified between chronotype and poor sleep quality, with evening-type students presenting worse sleep quality. Conclusion. Our results indicate that chronotype may influence sleep quality, with evening-type students being the most adversely affected.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Letícia Menezes Santos, Natan Martins Machado, Isaias Felipe dos Santos, José Milton Alves dos Santos Júnior, Heitor Franco dos Santos, Lívia Cristina Rodrigues Ferreira Lins
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Accepted 2025-03-13
Published 2025-04-10
