Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Academic Performance
ERH 101, Section 11
Date Due: 12 March 2015
Date Submitted: 12 March 2015
Annotated Sources and Synthesis
Help Received: Works cited, Conference with Mr. Hamilton, Chase Antony, Spell Check, Grammar Check, peer review sheets.
Bryan Kiel
All over the country there are college students who are struggling academically due to the long hours they have to pull to get all of their work done. According to research as a student begins to lose sleep their performance slowly deteriorates. When a college age kid moves in to college they begin to explore their newfound freedom and try to test their limits to see where they can go. As they do this their sleep cycle can be drastically changed completely throwing their circadian cycles off. There have been numerous studies that graph student’s sleep patterns and how it relates to their academic performance and a number of the studies have begun to show that sleep patterns have a high correlation to the ability of a student to perform academically. Whether it be a negative trend due to poor sleep habits or a positive one that could possible be caused by good solid sleep habits. The alteration to the circadian rhythm can also have a detrimental effect on students in other ways as well. Some students begin to show higher risks of depression which in and of itself has numerous health consequences. The sleep pattern change can also lead students to begin experimenting with drugs and this can lead to other drug abuse. Due to the facts of this study it is believed that sleep patterns of a college student can cause a decline academically and lead to higher rates of depression and drug abuse.
The new freedom of college can throw a lot of freshman with how much free time they have. When interviewed on sleep patterns students showed a trend to change their sleep patterns considerably compared to what they did in college. The students begin to sleep a relatively short amount during the week and then sleeping late into the afternoon on the weekends (Gilbert and Weaver). The study conducted determined that a high number of college students who have poor sleep habits have a higher risk of depression and poorer performance in academics. Whereas the study showed a high correlation it also states that correlation does not prove causation and it is just expressing a relationship. With that said these numbers could be held up by some organizations as a warning as something needs to be done to help educate college students on how to effectively manage their time to be as productive as possible.
Students sleep during the night was also scrutinized and the amount of times they wake up during the night they then also looked at the student’s wakefulness in class. The student’s who had interrupted sleep and a disrupted circadian rhythm reported a harder time staying awake throughout the day. The rate of college students who had a harder time staying awake was startling and the rates were higher by 16-26% compared to adults (Hershner and Cheyrin). The then trouble staying awake can also lead to higher rates of thing such as auto accidents and sometimes extreme mood swings which is incredible detrimental to a students academic performance. A poor sleep at night constantly can also lead to higher rates of drug usage (Forquer, Camden, Gabriau, Johnson). In a study published in the American Journal of Health 60% of the students who participated in the study used medicine or some sort of drug to hep them sleep.
Recently there have been a number of trends reporting that the average American teen is getting less and less sleep. The numbers have begun to show that boys report getting less sleep then girls and then minorities report even less sleep although they report being adequately rested. This is a trend that some high schools are trying to combat by changing start times. As the start times were changed in some areas accident rates decreased by 25% (Bailey). Changing start times in colleges could help students productivity as a later start time would mean that some of the chemicals that make people tired, such as melatonin, would be less prevalent in the brain helping to keep the students awake and focused. The lack of sleep has long reaching effects later in life for some people. By a number of consecutive poor nights sleep the chance of an auto accident increases considerably something happening like that could greatly harm the students. Communities at the grassroots level could combat this and ensure their teenagers are taught responsible habits from a young age. Incorporating it into programs at school such as health classes could help students at an early age realize how poor sleep habits can effect their future.
Sleep is a major problem of college kids around the world. Poor sleep habits can lead to some students struggling mightily academically. The sleep habits of college students has also been linked with higher depression which then causes a decline in productivity as well as a myriad of other problems with it. Their are a number of things universities could do to help improve their students life and even their schools overall wellbeing. Universities could begin offering classes on how sleep could have a favorable or detrimental effect on their academics. To do this effectively each school could employ psychologists to determine the way that would reach students best and then decide on a course of action to help the students along. The studies linked the poor sleep and deviation of the circadian rhythm with numerous problems and a number of things that universities should look into to help their students if they really care about the welfare of their university.
Sources
LeAnne M. Forquer, Adrian D. Camden, Krista M. Gabriau, C. Merle Johnson, “Sleep Patterns of College Students at a Public University.” Journal of American College Health, Vol 56.5: 563-565, 2008. Virginia Military Institute A-Z Database: Academic Search Complete 23 February 2015
The purpose of the study conducted was to determine how college students sleep patterns and the influence of other stressors such as illness on a student’s overall wellbeing. The study found that 43% of students woke up more than once a night. This caused a detrimental effect on their studies and their overall wellbeing. An extremely high percentage, 60%, of students who participated used medication to help them sleep.
Lavinia Fleuckiger, Rosalind Lieb, Andrea H. Meyer, and Jutta Mata, “How Health Behaviors Relate to Academic Performance via Affect: An Intensive Longitudinal Study.” Public Library of Science, 9.10: 1-10, 2014. Virginia Military Institute A-Z Database: Academic Search Complete 23 February 2015
This article was a study conducted on 72 students over the course of a month. The students answered questions every day regarding their sleep quality. They also had to evaluate their physical activity from the day before on a minimal, not exhausting, and exhausting scale. The study at the end showed that sleep was the best predictor of academic success and that physical activity was no real indicator of how the students would perform. The study also had an interesting finding that negative sleep scores did not affect academic performance that much on the average but when a positive sleep score was achieved academic performance went up. This study determined that sleep quality is the better predictor of academic success compared to
physical activity.
Steven P. Gilbert and Cameron C. Weaver, “Sleep Quality and Academic Performance in University Students: A Wake-Up Call for College Psychologists.” Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 246:295–306, 2010. Virginia Military Institute A-Z Database: Academic Search Complete 23 February 2015
This article focuses mainly on how a college students sleep habits can have an adverse effect on their performance in their academics. College students damage their sleep habits when they get to college by changing to little sleep during the week and late wakeup times on the weekend. This little amount of sleep can lead to problems like depression which will negatively effect the ability of the student to get their work done. There seems to be some correlation between sleep and depression but the results can vary and sometimes the correlation can be weak. This is one of the first studies to relate sleep quality and quantity to the academic performance of students. The study discovered that a high proportion of college students have poor sleep habits. Those sleep habits coincide with higher levels of depression and poorer academic performance. This article seems extremely credible they lay out their methods of research and they proceed to show how their research is plausible and proven.
Shelley D Hershner and Ronald D Chervin, “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students.” Nature & Science of Sleep, 6:73-84, 2014 Virginia Military Institute A-Z Database: Academic Search Complete 23 February 2015
This study focused on the sleep issues of a college student and how it effects them throughout the day. The consequences of this poor sleep quality and time are things such as risk of academic problems, impaired mood, and a higher risk of car accidents. The amount of college students who had daytime sleepiness problems was higher by 16-26% compared to adults. In the study sleepiness was determined by the inability to stay awake and focused during a major wake period of the day.
Ana Ligia D. Medeiros, Denise B.F. Mendes, Patrícia F. Lima and John F. Araujo, “The Relationships between Sleep-Wake Cycle and Academic Performance in Medical Students.” Biological Rhythm Research, 32.2: 268, 2001. Virginia Military Institute A-Z Database: Academic Search Complete 23 February 2015
This study focused on sleep cycles and how the irregularity of it and the onset of sleep and how it effected academic performance. The study eventually showed a high correlation of sleep patterns and the ability to perform in their studies. The study zeroed in on the evening hours when most students spend time studying. As it turned out the students that had a poor sleep quality score then had a less effective time studying. This is attributed to the students circadian rhythm being disrupted and the bodies inability to adjust and synchronize itself.
Bailey, Issac. “Horry and Georgetown schools should make later start time permanent.” Sun News, The (Myrtle Beach, SC) 21 Feb. 2015. NewsBank. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.