Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of sleep quantity and quality via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) on students’ academic achievement in their first year of university study. In this cross-sectional study, 193 students (102 female, 91 male, mean ± SD; age = 19.3 ± 2.9 y) from an undergraduate Health degree in New Zealand completed the PSQI four weeks prior to the end of the semester in their first year of university study. Results from three core subjects in the first semester were averaged and correlations between the PSQI and academic success were evaluated using Spearman’s rho (ρ). The group were also trichotomized using a PSQI global score of ≤5 as the threshold for “good” sleepers (n = 62, 32%), a score of 5–8 for “moderate” sleepers (n = 63, 33%) and a score ≥8 to characterize “poor” sleepers (n = 68, 35%). Overall, students averaged 7 h 37 min of self-reported sleep duration with an average bedtime of 22:55 p.m. and wake time of 8:01 a.m. There was a significant, small inverse relationship between academic performance and bedtime (p = 0.03, ρ = −0.14), with those going to bed earlier having superior academic success. The trichotomized data demonstrated no significant differences in academic performance between students with poor, moderate and good sleep quality (p = 0.92). Later bedtimes were associated with lower academic performance in a group of first year university students. However, there were no other relationships observed between academic success and self-reported sleep quality or quantity as determined by the PSQI. Enhancing awareness of the impact of sleep timing on academic success should be prioritized and strategies to improve sleep hygiene should be promoted to university students.

Highlights

  • The first year of university study often coincides with students leaving home and becoming more responsible for their own health and well-being behaviours, including their sleep habits and routines [1]

  • The main findings from the current study showed that there was a significant inverse relationship between average grades and bedtime, with students who went to bed earlier having higher academic grades during the first semester of university study

  • There were no other relationships observed between academic success and self-reported sleep quality or quantity as determined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

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Summary

Introduction

The first year of university study often coincides with students leaving home and becoming more responsible for their own health and well-being behaviours, including their sleep habits and routines [1]. University students are well known for their erratic sleep schedules and late bedtimes [5,6], with up to 50% of students reporting significant levels of daytime sleepiness [7]. In 2014, a study of ~1300 New Zealand university students aged 16 to 38 years investigating measures of mental health and well-being highlighted substantial health concerns [11]. In this cohort, 39% were suffering from significant sleep disorders, with depression, anxiety, illicit substance use, and circadian rhythm disorders being the most common causes of symptoms. Previous work from our laboratory evaluating health, fitness, and body mass changes in first year university students showed that 50% of participants reported declining self-reported sleep practices across a 12-week university semester [1]

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