SLEEPLESSNESS AND IT’S

RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGE
STUDENTS
Jasmine Crook, Caitlin Leger, Emma Seybert, and Trey Walden
NURS 3749: Nursing Research
Does sleep deprivation
influence academic
performance in college
students over their
academic career?
 So…
Let’s take a quick class poll.
– Raise your hand if you get 9 or more hours of sleep every single night, how about 7-
8 a night, how about 4-6?
– How many of you have pulled an “all-nighter” to study for an exam at least once?
– How many of you would say you feel “tired” or “fatigued” during the school day?
– Raise your hand if you feel that when you sleep less you feel less focused at school?
 • a condition of body and mind such as that which typically
recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous

Sleep system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural

muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.

• College students: need an average of 8+ hours of sleep a

night.
• Sleep restores and rejuvenates the body, grows muscle,
repairs tissue, and synthesizes hormones.
Sleep • A condition that occurs when the body doesn’t fulfill
the required amount of sleep per night to make that

Deprivation
particular body function. This could be due to:

– Not getting enough sleep.

– Sleeping at the wrong time of the day.

– Not getting through all of the correct sleep stages.

– Sleeping disorders making it difficult to fall asleep or stay

asleep.
What happens
when you
don’t sleep?
Journal of • GOOD STUDY: conducted to see if students with sleep

American disorders are also at risk for lower GPA’s or academic

performance

College Health
– Largest sleep study to date: sample size of 1,845 college
students

– Used the Sleep-50 questionnaire: consists of 50 items

designed to screen for a variety of sleep disorders in the
general population.

– To each item (eg, “I am told I snore.”) the student indicated

that it was “not at all” (1), “somewhat” (2), “rather much” (3),
or “very much” (4) true.”

Jane F. Gaultney, PhD, 2010

College Student • GOOD STUDY: To see if the amount of sleep college
students got correlates with academic performance

Journal – Smaller sample size consisting of 148 students enrolled in

general education psychology classes using a demographic
data sheet and a questionnaire

– Divided students into three categories: short sleepers were

defined as 4-6 hour sleeps, average sleepers were defined as
7-8 hours of sleep, long sleepers were defined as 9+ hours of
sleep

– Studied sleep patterns, length, and quality

William E. Kelly, Kathryn E. Kelly, Robert C. Clanton, 2001

The • WEAK STUDY: was conducted to research sleep habits,
sleep deprivation, and the overall effect that has on

University college students

of Arizona • Only surveyed a total of 65 people (while this isn’t

Journal
horrible, it’s just a bit smaller of a sample size)

• Used surveys through Facebook and different email

databases

• Differentiated between students who get a full nights

sleep and students who pull “all-nighters”
• Overall, students who reported longer sleep and earlier
sleep times had better GPA’s.

• Students who slept more throughout the night and

took naps during the day reported less grogginess and
more focus during class.

• Less than 5 hours a night correlated directly with lower

GPA

• Positive correlation between the amount of hours slept

and a higher GPA.

• “Morning people” typically tend to have higher GPAs

How does • Similar to college students, sleep is important for the

this relate to
patients we care for each and every day.

• A good night’s sleep promotes a better healing

nursing? process, a less irritable patient, and an easier recovery.

How can we help our patient sleep better?

– Provide a quiet, dark environment.

– Make sure the patient has an adequate amount of blankets

and enough pillows.

– Keep things consistent with the normal routine.