Excessive daytime sleepiness and quality of life related to the health of university professors

ABSTRACT Introduction Problems related to sleep affect people’s quality of life. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of excessive daytime sleepiness on the quality of life of college professors. Methods To evaluate the quality of life, it was used the Medical Outcomes Study 36 – Item Short – Form Health Survey questionnaire. Sleep was assessed by the Epworth scale, and the other variables were evaluated by a unified, semi-structured online questionnaire, transcribed in Google Doc. Results Of the 688 professors invited to participate in the survey, 40% answered the questionnaire. Overall, 35.2% presented excessive daytime sleepiness (95% CI: 29.5-40.9). There was a statistically significant association (p < 0,05) between excessive daytime sleepiness with lower quality of life score in the all eight domains evaluated (functional capacity, physical aspects, pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional aspects and mental health). Conclusion This paper addresses an important aspect, showing a strong relationship between sleep and lower level of quality of life. Policies should be planned focusing on quality of sleep to improve professors’ quality of life.