Health Sciences Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Awareness of the Effects of Sleep Quality on the Brain: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Sleep is a fundamental necessity for the human body, particularly for ensuring optimal brain function, and health science students are predisposed to experiencing lower-quality sleep than the general population. Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and awareness of health science students regarding the influence of sleep quality on the brain. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included male and female students from diverse Colleges at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, encompassing the College of Science and Health Professions, College of Medicine, College of Applied Medical Sciences, and College of Nursing. The study spanned one year, commencing in September 2022 and concluding in September 2023. It included 361 participants who completed a self-administered validated questionnaire. Participants were chosen through non probability consecutive sampling, and the questionnaire covered demographic characteristics, attitudes towards sleep quality, awareness of its importance, and knowledge of its impact on the brain. Data analysis encompassed descriptive statistics and inferential tests, including the Independent t-test, and Chi-square test with a significance level of p-value <0.05. Results: Female students exhibited a higher likelihood of disagreeing (p-value=0.006) with the notion that sleep quality does not impact memory conversion compared to males. Additionally, a significant number of female students (p-value=0.009) acknowledged the correlation between anxiety and insomnia, which was not as prevalent among males. Among the participants, 66.8% were females, and 33.2% were males. Common presleep behaviours included avoiding tea/coffee (76.5%) and using smartphones before bedtime (90.6%). While awareness of sleep quality's influence on memory recall was high (72.0%), comprehension of its connection with seizures in epilepsy was relatively lower. Conclusion: This study underscores the significance of assessing attitudes, knowledge, and awareness regarding sleep quality among health science students. Notable gender variations were observed, with females demonstrating greater awareness of sleep's impacts on memory and insomnia related to anxiety. Consequently, sleep education initiatives and fostering healthy sleep habits among students in health science disciplines are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]