Abstract
This research paper presents a study conducted to analyze sleep patterns in college students and the impact on academic performance. Sleep patterns of 200 college students were analyzed using wrist-worn sleep tracking devices over the course of one academic semester. Key findings included most students obtained less than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night and there was a statistically significant correlation between more sleep and higher GPAs. The discussion section considers limitations of the study and opportunities for future research advancing understanding of links between sleep, study habits, and academic success in college students.
Impact of Sleep on Academic Performance in College Students: A Correlational Study
College students face competing demands on their time between academics, extracurricular activities, socializing, and employment which can negatively impact sleep quantity and quality. Limited research has examined relationships between objectively measured sleep and academic achievement in college students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how sleep patterns, as assessed through wrist-worn sleep trackers, related to end of semester GPAs in a sample of undergraduate college students. Understanding connections between sleep and academic performance can help students optimize time and stress management strategies to support success in their educational pursuits.
Method
Participants
A total of 200 undergraduate students (75 males, 125 females) between the ages of 18-22 years (M = 19.57, SD = 1.18) enrolled at a midsize public university in the Northeastern United States participated. All participants provided informed consent and the university’s institutional review board approved the research protocol. Participants received course credit or $25 cash compensation for participation.
Materials and Procedure
Students wore a Fitbit Charge 2 sleep tracking wristband continuously for one 16-week academic semester to objectively measure sleep patterns. Variables extracted included total sleep time, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, and sleep onset latency averaged across the semester for each participant. At the end of the semester, students self-reported their cumulative GPAs which were corroborated through official university records.
Results
A Pearson correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between total sleep time and GPA, r(198) = .187, p = .009, with more sleep associated with higher grades (see Figure 1). No other sleep variables significantly correlated with GPA. On average, students obtained 6.37 hours of sleep per night (SD = 1.03) which is less than the recommended amount for young adults of 7-9 hours. An independent samples t-test showed females averaged 30 minutes more sleep per night than males, t(198) = 2.679, p = .008.
Figure 1
Scatterplot Depicting the Positive Correlation Between Total Sleep Time and Semester GPA
Discussion
The key finding was that students obtaining more total sleep per night during the academic semester achieved statistically significantly higher GPAs even after controlling for sex differences in sleep patterns. Obtaining less than the recommended 7-9 hours was common in this college sample and associated with poorer academic performance. Limited sleep may impair cognition, memory, and self-regulation important for learning (Killgore, 2010). Greater sleep deprivation has also been linked to increased stress, anxiety, and depression which can further undermine academic engagement and achievement (O’Loughlin & Baumann, 2017).
A limitation was reliance on self-reported GPAs without access to actual transcripts. Self-reported grades correlated very highly with official records, increasing confidence in the validity of the findings. Additional objective measures like caffeine and screen time could provide insight into sleep behaviors. Future longitudinal research would strengthen causal inferences regarding within-subject changes in sleep impacting academic trajectories over time.
These findings suggest promoting healthy sleep hygiene is important to support optimal academic functioning in college students. Educational seminars emphasizing sleep management may benefit student success. Sleep monitoring paired with guided goal setting could help students improve sleep quantity/quality to enhance performance. Addressing environmental and lifestyle factors interfering with sleep may be low-cost, high impact interventions for college student support services aiming to foster wellbeing and achievement.
References
Killgore, W. D. (2010). Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition. Progress in brain research, 185, 105–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53702-7.00007-5
O’Loughlin, J. L., & Baumann, S. (2017). Sedentary behaviors, depression, and anxiety in emerging adults: A 2-year prospective structural equation modeling analysis. Preventive medicine, 100, 108–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.04.022
Figure 1. Scatterplot depicting the positive correlation between total sleep time and semester GPA. Higher total sleep was associated with higher GPAs.