Effectiveness of THC-containing cannabis for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review.

Medical education is widely recognized as highly demanding and a major source of psychological stress, particularly during high-stakes examination periods. During these times, students often experience marked changes in their lifestyle, including heightened stress levels, disrupted study patterns, and increased reliance on last-minute cramming to sustain performance. Such pressures can negatively affect overall well-being, impair essential cognitive functions such as memory consolidation, and increase the risk of both academic fatigue and physical burnout []. Sleep, in particular, is a critical determinant of cognitive functioning, memory consolidation, and learning. Recent evidence from a 2025 cross-sectional study among medical and health sciences students showed that poor sleep quality is highly prevalent, affecting more than 70% of students, and is significantly associated with lower academic performance and reduced well-being []. Similarly, other studies have demonstrated that academic stress is strongly linked to sleep disturbances and decreased life satisfaction among medical students, highlighting the complex interaction between stress, sleep, and academic outcomes []. Caffeine consumption is another key behavior that tends to increase during exams, as students often rely on caffeinated beverages to enhance alertness and sustain study efforts. Recent research indicates that varying levels of caffeine intake are associated with differences in stress levels among University students, suggesting that caffeine use may both reflect and contribute to academic stress []. While moderate caffeine intake may temporarily improve alertness, excessive or poorly timed consumption can negatively affect sleep quality, which may in turn impair academic performance. Earlier experimental and observational studies have also shown that exam stress is associated with increased caffeine use and reduced sleep duration, reinforcing the cyclical relationship between stress, stimulant use, and sleep disruption [].