Abstract

Introduction: Sleep disorders among students are frequent and worrying given the multiple consequences they entail on mental and physical health as well as on academic abilities. The objective of our study was to measure the prevalence of sleep disorders in a population of students from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. Methodology: We conducted a descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional study over a period of one (1) month from June 10th to July 10th, 2024. This study concerned the students of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar. We used a self- administered questionnaire for sociodemographic and lifestyle information, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for excessive daytime sleepiness. Results: One hundred and one (101) students responded. The average age was 22 years. The prevalence of sleep disorders was 66% with 22% of severe disorders. The average sleep time was seven hours (07h) on weekdays and eight hours and thirty minutes (08h 30min) on weekends, marking a one-hour and thirty-minute sleep catch-up phenomenon (01h 30min). The prevalence of insomnia was 39%; excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD) were noted among 7.9% and 55.44% of the students, respectively. Among parasomnias, we noted a high prevalence of nightmares (49.59%) and sleep paralysis (28.71%). Conclusion: The high prevalence of sleep disorders and associated factors in this category of the population must alert all health professionals in order to carry out preventive actions.

Keywords

sleep disorders, students, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal