Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Osudu, Puducherry – 605502, India

Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Chennai – 600127, Tamil Nadu, India
Sleep quality; PSQI; Psychological distress; Medical students; GHQ-12; Mental health ,

In this cross-sectional study involving 300 medical students, poor sleep quality emerged as a highly prevalent concern, affecting more than half of the participants (55%), and demonstrated a significant relationship with psychological wellbeing. Students with higher Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, indicating poorer sleep quality, reported substantially greater levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The moderate positive correlations observed between PSQI scores and measures of psychological distress (r ? 0.47) and anxiety (r ? 0.42) suggest that deteriorating sleep quality is closely linked to worsening mental health among medical students. Furthermore, students classified as poor sleepers exhibited a markedly higher prevalence of psychological distress compared with those reporting good sleep quality. Importantly, the association between poor sleep and psychological distress remained statistically significant even after adjusting for potential confounding variables, indicating that sleep quality independently contributes to students’ psychological wellbeing. These findings are consistent with existing evidence showing that demanding academic schedules, prolonged study hours, examination-related stress, irregular sleep patterns, and lifestyle factors commonly experienced during medical training can adversely affect both sleep and mental health. Given that psychological distress may negatively influence academic performance, clinical competence, interpersonal relationships, and overall quality of life, the results highlight the importance of early identification and management of sleep problems within medical schools. Integrating sleep hygiene education, stress-management programs, mental health counseling services, and wellness initiatives into undergraduate medical curricula may help reduce psychological distress and promote healthier learning environments. Overall, the study underscores the strong interrelationship between sleep quality and mental health and supports the implementation of comprehensive interventions targeting both domains to enhance the wellbeing and academic success of medical students

9 , 2 , 2019