Características del Sueño y su Calidad en Estudiantes de Medicina de la Universidad de Panamá.

Introduction. 35% of the population has presented at some point in their life a sleep disturbance, with insomnia being the most common disorder. For medical students, the prevalence of poor sleepers ranges from 60% to 90%, which is even higher than the general population.  Objective. To determine the characteristics and quality of sleep in medical students of University of Panama, during November of 2013.  Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional study. The universe was 1116 medical students of the University of Panama with a sample of 290 students, with a 95% confidence level. The data collection was performed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.  Results. 56.6% (164) were females and the mean age was 21 ± 2 years. The subjective sleep quality was good in 48.6% (141) of participants and poor in 51.3% (149). In average, the students took about 15 minutes to fall asleep with a standard deviation of ± 17 minutes.  Conclusion. This study can conclude that the majority of medical students of the University of Panama have bad sleep quality.  Key words: Sleep quality, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, medical students.