Research

Hormonal

High levels of perceived psychological stress are significantly associated with poor sleep quality in medical students, with stressed students having an 86% prevalence of poor sleep compared to 64% in non-stressed students.

If you are a student or high-performer feeling stressed, recognize that your sleep problems are likely a symptom of that stress, not just a bad habit. The data shows stressed individuals are much more likely to have poor sleep. Instead of just forcing yourself to stay awake to study, address the stressor directly (e.g., through counseling or time management) because the stress itself is driving the sleep disruption. Prioritizing sleep hygiene is a medical recommendation for this population to break the cycle of stress-induced insomnia.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The present study demonstrates a significant association between stress and sleep quality among medical students. It shows that a high level of stress is a major predictor and contributor to poor sleep quality. Our results revealed that the prevalence of poor sleep quality among stressed students is 86%, whereas 64% of non-stressed students were poor sleepers.
Abdullah I. Almojali et al. · Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health · 2017

Why this rating

Cross-sectional design prevents causal inference; self-reported data introduces recall bias; single institution limits generalizability.

Source

The prevalence and association of stress with sleep quality among medical students

Abdullah I. Almojali et al. · Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health · 2017

DOI 10.1016/j.jegh.2017.04.005

cross_sectional · n=263Cited 578×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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