PREVALENCE OF SLEEP DISORDERS AND PERCEIVED STRESS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN JALALABAD CITY, AFGHANISTAN: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Keywords:
Sleep quality, Perceived stress, University students, Academic stress, Afghanistan.Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of poor sleep quality and perceived stress, examine their association, and identify sociodemographic, lifestyle, academic, and personal factors associated with poor sleep among university students in Jalalabad City, Afghanistan.
Methods: A quantitative institution-based cross-sectional study included 210 students from Medicine, Stomatology, and Pharmacy faculties, selected through stratification by faculty followed by convenience sampling. Data are collected used a self-administered questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact test, Spearman correlation, and binary and multivariable logistic regression are applied.
Results: Complete PSQI data are available for 195 students, of whom 40.0% had poor sleep quality. Among 198 students with complete stress data, 84.8% reported moderate perceived stress. Stress category is associated with sleep quality (p = 0.011), but PSS-10 score is not significant in the final model. Increased non-academic screen time (aOR = 2.48), academic stress (aOR = 2.14), and major personal or family problems (aOR = 4.88) independently predicted poor sleep.
Conclusion: Poor sleep and moderate stress are common. Sleep quality is more strongly related to screen exposure, academic pressure, and personal difficulties than to general perceived stress after adjustment.
Recommendations: Universities should provide sleep-health education, screen-time guidance, academic stress-management programs, confidential counselling, and psychosocial support. Larger longitudinal multicenter studies are recommended to clarify causal relationships and improve generalizability
