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Sleep patterns and awareness of the consequences of sleep deprivation in Saudi Arabia

  • Neurology • Original Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Sleep deprivation is a growing challenge in modern society and places a burden on people's physical and mental well-being. However, only a few studies have investigated sleep patterns and awareness of the associated risks of sleep deprivation in Middle Eastern countries. This study aimed to explore these issues in adults in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

This was a quantitative cross-sectional study. We collected information on the participants’ demographic characteristics, sleep hours, and sense of feeling sleep-deprived over the previous 3 months regardless of sleep duration. Current knowledge of the health consequences associated with chronic sleep deprivation and attitudes toward seeking in-person health care for sleep deprivation symptoms were additionally assessed.

Results

Among 1449 adults, only 41% of the participants slept for the recommended duration for adults of 7 h or more. However, 70% reported feeling sleep-deprived at least some of the time regardless of their sleep duration. Smokers, students, and those on sleep medications were more likely to report feeling sleep-deprived. Most participants (strongly) agreed that chronic sleep deprivation had a negative effect on their health (92%) and social (88%) and professional lives (91%), yet only 10% of our sample had visited a doctor for their sleep deprivation symptoms.

Conclusions

We found a high level of sleep deprivation among residents of Saudi Arabia and a strong awareness of the association between chronic sleep deprivation and negative consequences, yet a lower awareness of the association with specific medical comorbidities. Our findings also suggested a lack of health care engagement among sleep-deprived participants.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Internal Medicine & Critical Care Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Enas Almowalad

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Abeer F. Almarzouki

  3. Internal Medicine Department, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Shifaa Alsalahi

  4. Internal Medicine Department, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Flwah Aljanoubi & Sarah Alzarah

  5. Internal Medicine Department, Al-Habib Hospital, Al Qassim, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Obada Alobeid

  6. Pediatric Department, Al-Iman General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Maha Aldhafeeri

Authors
  1. Enas Almowalad
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  2. Abeer F. Almarzouki
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  3. Shifaa Alsalahi
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  4. Flwah Aljanoubi
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  5. Sarah Alzarah
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  6. Obada Alobeid
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  7. Maha Aldhafeeri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abeer F. Almarzouki.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU). All ethical approval for research at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAAUH) is currently obtained through PNU as the local KAAUH ethical board is under development. All participants provided informed consent, and their responses were anonymized. This study was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Almowalad, E., Almarzouki, A.F., Alsalahi, S. et al. Sleep patterns and awareness of the consequences of sleep deprivation in Saudi Arabia. Sleep Breath 27, 1511–1518 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02728-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-022-02728-6

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