Sleep Quality and Daytime Sleepiness among the Clinicians Working in a Tertiary Care Center in Sikkim, India

BACKGROUND: Doctors in India have increased workload and are at risk for poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness which have not been explored much. METHODS: One hundred doctors selected by convenience sampling from different departments of the hospital were assessed cross-sectionally. Physical parameters which were assessed included height, weight, blood pressure, and diabetes status. Other variables assessed included durations of duty hours and social media usage. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were assessed with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), respectively. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 35.3 years with a SD of 6.21. In all, 42% were female. The overall prevalence of poor quality of sleep was 28.3%. Among the participants, junior and senior residents were the most affected; 45% of the junior residents were having a poor quality of sleep. Daytime sleepiness was significantly more common among the junior residents as compared with doctors of other designations (P =0.02). The mean duration of duty hours was highest for the junior residents. Male participants were more likely to be obese and to have systemic hypertension. No significant difference was found for social media usage among different designations or gender. CONCLUSION: Poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness are highly prevalent among the doctors, especially those who are lower in the hierarchy. Interventions for physical and psychological morbidity among the doctors and strict implementation of guidelines governing duty hours and call schedule of junior physicians are recommended.