Abstract
Background: Adequate sleep is a critical issue for good human health and cognitive function. COVID-19 pandemic disrupts sleep pattern for medical students so this study assessed sleep quality among medical students in Al Qunfudhah College of medicine and its effects on their academic performance during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A random sample of 198 undergraduates was enrolled in this cross sectional study during academic year 2020-2021. A validated, an online survey Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to collect data. Results: A total of 198 undergraduates responded to survey, male students represented (59.1%) and majority were single (96.5%). Poor sleep quality was observed among 55.6% of them. About 25.0% of medical students were using sleeping medications and 53.0% of them slept less than five hours a night. Finally, 91.0% of students who got GPAs 2-2.5 were having poor sleep quality (P 0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19 carried major stresses for medical students which in turn led to poor sleep quality among most of them and negatively affected their academic performance. Poor sleep quality pushed medical students to use sleeping medication which is an issue of concern.