The relationship between perfectionism and quality of sleep: A cross-sectional study among Sudanese medical students

Abstract Background : Perfectionism is characterized by the pursuit of perfection, the imposition of unreasonably high standards for performance, and a constant state of self-criticism of one's actions. Perfectionism leading to depression, OCD, and anxiety can affect the quality of sleep, leading to less productivity and less involvement in one's daily activities. One of the most affected groups is medical students who are more likely to develop sleep-deprived lifestyles; this can be due to the stressful environment of medical school and the perceived high academic load. This study aims to address the association between perfectionism among medical students and sleep quality. Method : The study utilized an analytical and facility-based cross-sectional study conducted in March 2023 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan. We used two validated questionnaires which are: The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data was collected using an online self-administered questionnaire via social media platforms. Analysis has been done using SPSS version 21 by descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and regression. Results: 233 medical students were included in the study. Almost 56% of them were females. Almost 60% of the sample suffered from poor sleep quality. There weren't any significant mean differences observed in gender or age regarding perfectionism and sleep quality. Only two domains of perfectionism were found to be significantly associated with sleep quality:” concerns over mistakes and doubts of action” and “concern with parent expectation and evaluation”( P < 0.01 for both domains). There was a positive and significant association between the total perfectionism scale and sleep quality(r = 0.222, P < 0.01). Conclusion : There is growing evidence of the association between sleep quality and perfectionism. Our study highlighted this association among medical students. We found that there was a small positive and significant association between total the perfectionism scale and sleep quality. But neither gender nor academic year showed to be contributing to this association. So our study demonstrates the effect of perfectionism in disturbing the sleep quality unbiased by either gender or academic year with potential clinical and therapeutic applications. These findings can benefit the medical students in the University of Khartoum and other medical students.