Physicians who suffer from poor sleep quality are at an increased risk of mistakes and poor decision-making. We deemed it noteworthy to assess sleep quality in practicing physiatrists, previously reported to be at higher risk of physician burnout, which was documented associated with sleep deprivation.
The aim was to estimate the prevalence of sleep disturbance among practicing physiatrists and evaluate the association of sleep quality with their sleep hygiene habits and depression.
Of the 101 study participants (77 females) who met the inclusion criteria, the majority was between the age of 25 and 40 years (70.3% ); 62 (61.4% ) were specialists and 39 (38.6% ) were in training. In this cross-sectional study, practicing physiatrists were invited to complete an anonymous and voluntary web-based survey. The survey consisted of questions covering demographic information, nicotine and caffeine consumption, exercise habits, and three questionnaires: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI).
Sixty-five (64.4% ) respondents showed poor sleep quality (PSQI >  5), and 23 (22.8% ) showed at least mild symptoms of depression (BDI-II>13). The mean PSQI, SHI, BDI-II scores were 6.85±3.09, 18.18±5.35, and 8.36±7.52, respectively. Poor sleep quality was significantly positively correlated with symptoms of depression and sleep hygiene misbehavior.
We found that 64.4% of practicing physiatrists suffered from poor sleep quality, and 22.8% showed at least mild symptoms of depression. Considerable efforts should be directed toward sleep hygiene behavior and mental health improvement.