Abstract
Background: Insomnia is a sleep disorder associated with several significant daytime consequences such as fatigue, low mood, lack of energy, and daytime sleepiness. Medical students appear to be more prone to developing sleep-related problems potentially due to long study years in college and a stressful lifestyle. The primary objective of the present study was to determine the association between exams and insomnia among medical students at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, it also aimed to determine the association between naps, sleep medications, medical conditions, and insomnia.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among male medical students at KSAU-HS, Riyadh. Students were surveyed using the Insomnia Severity Index to evaluate the prevalence of insomnia 2 weeks prior to exams and 2 weeks after exams.
Results: A total of 367 medical students were included. The prevalence of insomnia before and after exams were 32.9% (n = 49) and 27.1% (n = 59), respectively. The association between insomnia and exams was not statistically significant (p = 0.27). A total of 47.25% of the students reported taking naps and 5.96% took sleep medications. Napping and medical conditions affecting sleep did not significantly influence students’ quality of
sleep. There was a significant association between insomnia and sleep medications (p = 0.006).
Conclusions: The prevalence of insomnia among medical students in the present study was similar to other studies. Insomnia among medical students was not related to exams. Furthermore, taking sleep medications such as melatonin and antihistamines was associated with insomnia. More than half of the students who took sleep medications had insomnia, while only one-quarter of the students who did not take sleep medications had insomnia.

Key words: Insomnia, medical students, quality of sleep, exams, Saudi Arabia