Ritmos circadianos de sueño y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de medicina

Objective: to evaluate, with a preliminary
study, the distribution of circadian rhythms, sleep
schedule patterns and their relationship with
academic performance on medical students.
Methodology: in this descriptive study, a 10 item
original questionnaire about sleep rhythms and
academic performance was applied to medical
students from different semesters. Week (class
time) and weekend schedules, preferences,
daytime somnolence and academic performance
were asked. Three chronotypes (morningness,
intermediate and eveningness) were defined
among waking-sleeping preference, difficulty to
sleep early, exam preparation preference hour and real sleep schedule. The sleep hour deficit per
week night was also calculated. Results: Of the
318 medical students that answered the questionnaire,
62.6% corresponded to intermediate
chronotypes, 8.8% to evening-type and 28.7%
to morning-type. Significant difference was
found among the two chronotype tails (p=0.000,
Chi-square 31.13). No correlation was found
between academic performance and age, sex,
chronotype, week sleep deficit and sleep hours in
week and weekends. A 71.1% of the students slept 6 or fewer hours during class time and 78% had
a sleep deficit (more frequent in the evening
chronotype). Conclusions: No relation was found
between sleep chronotype and academic performance.
Students tend to morningness. Few
studies have been made on equatorial zones or
without seasons.
Key words: sleep, circadian rhythm, chronobiology,
chronotype, academic performance,
medical students, medical education, Bogotá,
Colombia