Sleep education in medical school curriculum: A glimpse across countries
Abstract
Background The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of education about sleep and sleep disorders in medical school education and to identify barriers to providing such education.Methods Surveys were sent to 409 medical schools across 12 countries (Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United States, Canada and Viet Nam).Results Overall, the response rate was 25.9%, ranging from 0% in some countries (India) to 100% in other countries (New Zealand and Singapore). Overall, the average amount of time spent on sleep education is just under 2.5h, with 27% responding that their medical school provides no sleep education. Three countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Viet Nam) provide no education, and only Australia and the United States/Canada provide more than 3h of education. Paediatric topics were covered for a mere 17 min compared to over 2h on adult-related topics.Conclusion These results suggest that there continues to be very limited coverage of sleep in medical school education despite an incredible increase in acknowledgement of the importance of sleep and need for recognition of sleep disorders by physicians.
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A survey of 409 medical schools in 12 countries reported that the average amount of time spent on sleep education is less than 3 h, with around one-quarter of respondents suggesting a total absence of sleep curricula.
“A survey of 409 medical schools in 12 countries reported that the average amount of time spent on sleep education is less than 3‐h, with around one‐quarter of respondents suggesting a total absence of sleep curricula [34].”
From Essential Information About Chronobiology and Chronotherapy for the Optimal Care of People With Bipolar Disorders: An Expert Consensus (2026) · cites this paper as [34]
Many Clinical Practice Guidelines and clinical training programs have not incorporated evidence on circadian dysfunction and chronotherapy into their recommendations and curricula.
“many Clinical Practice Guidelines and clinical training programs have not incorporated this evidence in their recommendations and curricula.”
From Essential Information About Chronobiology and Chronotherapy for the Optimal Care of People With Bipolar Disorders: An Expert Consensus (2026) · cites this paper as [34]
There is a paucity of information about chronobiology in clinical training programs and professional guidelines for the treatment of BD.
“we believe there is a paucity of information about chronobiology in clinical training programs and professional guidelines for the treatment of BD.”
From Essential Information About Chronobiology and Chronotherapy for the Optimal Care of People With Bipolar Disorders: An Expert Consensus (2026) · cites this paper as [34]
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Sleep education for healthcare providers: Addressing deficient sleep in Australia and New Zealand
Meaklim, H., Jackson, M. L., Bartlett, D., Saini, B., Falloon, K., Junge, M., Slater, J., Rehm, I. C., & Meltzer, L. J. (2020) · Sleep Health · doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2020.01.012 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
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“Lastly, health professionals such as doctors and psychologists receive minimal education in the management of sleep disturbances during their formal training (Meltzer et al., 2009; Mindell et al., 2011; Meaklim et al., 2020), and thus evidence-based self-help programs are vital to increase access to effective insomnia…”
BackgroundCrouse, J. J., Loblay, V., Jorm, A., Wong, T. R., de Haan, Z., Gorban, C., Shin, M., Tonini, E., Aiken, C., Alloy, L. B., et al. (2026) · Bipolar Disorders · doi:10.1111/bdi.70141 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“First, a survey of 409 medical schools in 12 countries reported that the average amount of time spent on sleep education is less than 3-h, with around one-quarter of respondents suggesting a total absence of sleep curricula [34].”
- Authors
- Mindell, J. A., Bartle, A., Wahab, N. A., Ahn, Y., Ramamurthy, M. B., Huong, H. T. D., Kohyama, J., Ruangdaraganon, N., Sekartini, R., Teng, A., & Goh, D. Y. T.
- Affiliations
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
- Serdang Hospital (MY)
- Eulji University (KR)
- National University Hospital (SG)
- University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (VN)
- Tokyo Bay Urayasu Ichikawa Medical Center (JP)
- Mahidol University (TH)
- University of Indonesia (ID)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Mindell, Jodi A.
- Venue
- Sleep Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-10
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 928-931
- ISSN
- 1389-9457 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2131653879
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 7.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sleep Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- National University of Singapore (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Johnson and Johnson
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Medical Education
- Keywords
- sleep education, sleep disorders, medical curriculum, medical education, sleep medicine training
- MeSH terms
- Asia, Australia, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Curriculum, Education, Medical, Humans, North America, Sleep Wake Disorders, Global Health, Prevalence, Health Care Surveys
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