ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION HABITS AND SLEEP QUALITY

Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive substance, due to its easy production, availability of alcoholic beverages and fast action. Drinking alcohol can cause sleep disorders because it disrupts the sequence and duration of sleep stage. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of alcohol consumption on the quality and length of sleep of the first year students of doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine. Our study group included 42 patients who were in the first year of doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Nis. The research was conducted from November 2011 until April 2012 at the Faculty of Medicine. Out of the 42 subjects who were included in the research, 25 of them or 59.5% consumed alcohol, while 17 of them or 45% did not. Comparing the length of sleep of those who consumed alcohol with those who did not, the difference was not statistically significant. Alcohol consumption leads to poor quality of sleep, but it does not affect the length of sleep. Acta Medica Medianae 2014;53(2):10-15.