Impact of Examination Stress on Sleep Pattern and Academic Performance of Medical and Dental Students.

Introduction: In this study, we first established the normal sleep pattern prevalent in a group of undergraduate medical and dental students and then assessed changes in this pattern a week before examination. Concurrently, we explored how examination stress can impact the academic performance of the subjects. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire in English language only, in the form of Google docs was given to 201 medical and dental undergraduates in their first year in Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute (Chennai, India), which contained a variety of questions in line with seven chosen parameters. The questionnaire was administered in a single setting, with questions requiring subjective answers on sleep pattern on regular and stress days. The results were statistically analysed using SPSS V 26. Results: Sleep rhythm was found to be strongly influenced by examination stress (p < 0.05). Notably, day time sleeping was widespread among the students. Conclusion: With our results indicating that non-stressful sleep has a strong impact on the academic performance of students, we suggest changes like double shift college and small group discussions that can help students overcome stress induced setbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]