Assessment of Medical Student Sleep Using Wrist Actigraphy

Medical students frequently report poor sleep, predisposing them to various mental health conditions. Additionally, evidence suggests poor sleep diminishes neurocognitive functions, such as alertness and learning. To date, investigations on medical student sleep have relied on subjective evaluations, while wrist actigraphy devices have been used to objectively evaluate sleep metrics among physicians, nurses, and pharmacy students. The goal of this study was to evaluate medical students’ sleep metrics using wrist actigraphy. Our results indicate that medical students are not sleeping the recommended hours per night, nor obtaining adequate sleep quality, possibly due to stress or sacrificing sleep for academic requirements. Second-year students demonstrated the best sleep metrics, possibly due to familiarity with medical school. However, clinical rotations, residency applications, and interviews, likely contributed to worse sleep metrics among third and fourth-year students (compared to other academic years). Poor sleep has been frequently reported by medical students, and evidence suggests sleep behaviors worsen during residency. Therefore, objectively identifying sleep behaviors is an essential step in the process of combating poor sleep health in medical students.