This week, we discuss a dark side of med school, original research on mothers with ADHD, and new hope for PTSD patients.
Colombian Medical Students Struggle with Sleepiness
New research from a public university in Santa Marta, Colombia, reveals that more than half of the school’s medical students – a whopping 53.1 percent – wrestle with excessive daytime sleepiness. Obviously, that far outstrips most global averages. The Colombian researchers looked at a number of factors normally tied to sleepiness, such as anxiety, depression, social capital, sleep hygiene, and insomnia
The research project, appearing this week in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, uncovered strong links between sleepiness and both depression and insomnia. Anxiety and sleep hygiene – on the other hand – ended up playing a statistically insignificant role in the final analysis. Meanwhile, poor cognitive social capital — which the team defined as the participants’ own’ perception of social support — also appeared noteworthy.
Medical students face notoriously intense academic workloads that include long hours of study, as well as clinical training, which could cut into a good night’s sleep. And these study results, the researchers argue, further underscore the need for universities to take student sleep health more seriously. They suggest tactics such as academic policy adjustments, mental health support, and sleep hygiene programs.
The study’s authors also point out that promoting healthy sleep habits, while maybe curbing “excessive” academic demands, could help mitigate sleepiness and the cascade effect it has on students’ academic performance and overall well-being.
IN OTHER PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY NEWS
- Research in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry this week suggests that starting behavioral parent training before medication for mothers with ADHD leads to the best outcomes.
- A clinical trial, also appearing in JCP, suggests that brexpiprazole (paired with sertraline) could be an effective PTSD treatment.
- Over at PCC, there’s a case report illustrating mania triggers in patients with hypoglycemic risk factors and comorbid bipolar I disorder.
- And could esmethadone be a new weapon in the arsenal to fight major depressive disorder?
- Finally, catch up on this week’s installment in Emerging Approaches in Schizophrenia.
