"Healthy sleep habits between scientific theories and islamic sharia"

Abstract

Islam encourages sleep habits that every Muslim should follow, and modern science and scientific theories have confirmed that these habits introduced by Islam offer health benefits, positively affecting the body, mind, and soul. In contrast, general sleep habits often negatively impact a person’s health and mind.

Among the Islamic sleep practices are going to bed early after the evening prayer (Isha), sleeping on the right side, waking up early to start the day with vitality and energy, and avoiding long, uninterrupted hours of sleep. Instead, one wakes up for the dawn prayer (Fajr) and night prayers, along with other positive habits.

A sample of 159 female students from Umm Al-Qura University’s Az-Zahir campus in Makkah for the academic year 1435/1436 AH (2014/2015) was randomly selected. The study relied on specific tools, including a sleep habits questionnaire and the Cognitive Abilities Test Battery (Derimen, Harman, French, Ekstrom), which assesses cognitive abilities, visual memory, and associative memory among students. The study focused on the main question: What is the relationship between sleep habits and cognitive performance efficiency among a sample of students at Umm Al-Qura University?

The sample results showed that those who followed Islamic sleep habits (such as sleeping at night and maintaining an average number of hours) had greater ability to focus, comprehend, and engage in daily activities without lethargy or fatigue, unlike those who followed general sleep habits.