Impact of Sleeping pattern on academic performance among dental students in Chennai

Background-It is well accepted that sleeping habits affect academic success in students.However sleep patterns and habits of students have been insufficiently addressed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sleep habits of dental students and its relationship with academic performance. Materials and methods-Descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among dental students. Self administered structured questionnaire was used to assess the sleeping pattern, habits and academic performance. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation were used to assess the date. Results- About 35% of the study participants had average academic performance. A positive correlation was observed between sleeping hours and academic performance (r = .358) Conclusion-The result of the present study showed that dental students are unknowingly exposed to unhealthy sleeping habits which can influence the academic performance of dental students.