Effects of Perceived Stress and Insomnia on Emotional Intelligence of Medical Students

Introduction Medical students, our future doctors and an important part of the healthcare team, need good emotional regulation. They face high academic and psychosocial stress due to the curriculum, which puts them at risk for insomnia. Stress and insomnia can negatively affect emotional intelligence (EI). Our study aims to understand the correlation between perceived stress (PS), insomnia, and EI. Materials and methods After institutional ethics committee approval and obtaining informed consent, 286 medical students in the age group of 18-25 years were included. Those with chronic diseases and on treatment were excluded. Participants filled out a demographic questionnaire and Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Mohapel's Emotional Intelligence Test (EIT) questionnaires. The data was analyzed using R Statistical Software (R Core Team, 2024), and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Moderate perceived stress was seen in 74.48% of the participants, and insomnia in 55.94%. EI was mainly in the low category for emotional awareness (EA) (66.78%) and emotional management (EM) (55.59%). A statistically significant association was found between perceived stress and insomnia (p < 0.001), perceived stress and EI (emotional management (p < 0.001), social emotional awareness (SEA) (p = 0.006), and relationship management (RM) (p < 0.001)), and insomnia and EI (emotional awareness (p < 0.001), emotional management (p = 0.008), and relationship management (p = 0.034)). Conclusion Higher perceived stress and insomnia severity were associated with lower EI in medical students. Educational and psychological interventions are required to support medical students for stress management and better emotional regulation.