Effect of Endogenous Sex Steroids on Sleep Habits in Male Medical Students

Background: To study the relationship of age and sleep habits with total testosterone levels in younger age group. Methods: This randomized cross sectional study was conducted on 66 male medical students. Anthropometric characteristics were measured and a standardized questionnaire proforma was completed regarding sleep habits. Serum total testosterone level was analyzed by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay technique. Data was analyzed using student‘t’ test and Pearson bivariate correlation. Results: Total testosterone was positively associated with age (r=0.102, p=0.018) and total sleep duration (r=0.753, p=0.000). Total sleep duration showed a positive association with age (r=0.270, p=0.000).Academic performance showed a positive relation with sleep duration (r=0.623, p=0.000) and sleeping time (r=0.188, p=0.000). Conclusion: Low concentration of total testosterone was associated with less healthy sleep. Total sleep duration and timing of sleep were related with academic performance.