Association between diet quality and the level of sleepiness in university students from Peru: analytical cross-sectional study

Introduction: Diet quality aims for diversity and dietary balance, while drowsiness is a basic physiological need, also recognized as the tendency to fall asleep. Objective: To determine the association between diet quality and the level of drowsiness among students from a private university in Lima, Peru, in 2023. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical, and observational study. The study included 385 students aged 18 to 25 from a private university in Lima. The variables analyzed were diet quality, assessed using the Healthy Eating Index, and the probability of drowsiness, measured with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Descriptive statistics (median, interquartile range, frequencies, and percentages) and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests) were used for the study variables. Results: 55.6% of the studied population were women. The presence of moderate drowsiness in 71.2% of women was higher than in men (p<0.05). 59.6% sleep less than 7 hours. Only 8.6% consume vegetables and fruits daily. 53% of women need changes in their diet quality. 24.42% of those with an unhealthy diet report moderate levels of drowsiness, in contrast to 12.45% of those who need dietary changes. This association is statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: An association between diet quality and drowsiness levels is observed among Peruvian university students aged 18 to 25.