A pilot study to investigate sleep-wake patterns among healthy Muslim adults in Kuantan, Pahang

Abstract

Sleep is known as one of the most important components for a good living. Nevertheless, nowadays, sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent, affecting worldwide population. Like other nations, Muslims also juggle their responsibilities while sometimes compromising their sleep. Muslims’ sleep-wake patterns are believed to be unique as compared to other nations as they are influenced by prayer times and other sleep-related Islamic practices. This study sought to investigate sleep-wake patterns among healthy Muslim adults in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. This study also compared sleep parameters obtained from a self-reported sleep diary and a sleep-tracking mobile application over 14 consecutive days, and examined sleep disturbance and sleep quality among study population. Three instruments were utilized for data collection including baseline questionnaire, sleep diary, and mobile application. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA). Statistical analyses performed include descriptive analysis to analyze demographic data, sleep-related characteristics, responses on questionnaires, and sleep diary entries; independent t-test to analyze usual sleep habits and compare between gender and employment groups; paired samples t-test to compare total sleep time and sleep efficiency percentage obtained from sleep diary and mobile application; and Bland-Altman plots to analyze agreement between the two measures. A total of 59 adults (45 females and 14 males) were conveniently recruited via social media advertisement. The findings indicated mean bedtime of 12.10 ± 1.14 midnight, wake-up time of 6.35 ± 0.38 am, sleep onset latency of 10.7 ± 13.8 min, and total sleep time of 323.4 ± 58.6 min per day. Sleep diary was found to be in agreement with mobile application at measuring total sleep time. One-third (35.6%) of the participants reported having excessive daytime sleepiness while almost two-third (57.7%) of the participants reported having insomnia symptoms. About 27% of the participants claimed to be dissatisfied with their current sleep patterns. In summary, findings showed that sleep deprivation, daytime napping and wakefulness after sleep onset were common among study population. These findings are relevant to extend knowledge on Muslims’ sleep-wake patterns. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to develop Muslim-friendly sleep-monitoring tools, for a more specific and better monitoring of Muslims’ sleep-wake patterns.