Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2024; 17(S 01): S1-S89
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811776
Sleep Science Supplement 2024

Chronotype, Sleep Quality, and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Dental Students

Authors

  • Jessica Fernanda de Oliveira Lima Batista

    1   Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

  • Bruna Lopes Donato

    1   Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

  • Laércio Guedes De Lima Júnior

    1   Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

  • Sérgio Soares da Silva

    1   Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

  • Miguel Gonçalves Meira e Cruz

    2   Lisbon School of Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal

  • Mônica Vilela Heimer

    1   Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
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Keywords

chronotype - sleep quality - excessive daytime sleepiness

Introduction: Chronotype refers to individual differences in circadian rhythms that determine each person's preferences for sleep, wakefulness, and daily activities. Misalignment between a person's biological chronotype and academic schedules can negatively impact students' physical and mental health. One of the main effects of this misalignment is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which can hinder the learning process and academic performance of university students.

Objective: To analyze the association between chronotype, sleep quality, and excessive daytime sleepiness in dental students.

Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with dental students at the University of Pernambuco (UPE). The sample included students of both genders, enrolled from the first to the tenth semester of the Dentistry course at the Pernambuco School of Dentistry. Participants who had any cognitive limitations that made it impossible to understand the research instruments or were undergoing treatment for a sleep disorder were excluded. The following questionnaires were administered: Sociodemographic, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Data were tabulated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 24. Pearson's Chi-square test was used, with a significance level of 5% and a 95% confidence interval.

Results: The sample comprised 255 students. The majority (56.1%) were between 20 and 23 years old; 74.9% were female. The most prevalent chronotype was evening (56.5%); 44.7% had poor sleep quality, and 54.1% experienced excessive daytime sleepiness. A significant association was observed between chronotype and EDS (p < 0.05), with students having an evening chronotype being 1.7 times more likely to experience EDS than those with a morning chronotype. Chronotype was not associated with sleep quality or sociodemographic data.

Conclusion: Chronotype was associated with EDS, with excessive daytime sleepiness being more prevalent in students with an evening chronotype.


No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
16 September 2025

© 2025. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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