1) The study examined relationships between sleep patterns, self-reported academic performance measures, and demographic/lifestyle factors in 50 college students. 2) Results found that lower sleep quality was associated with lower academic performance, with most students reporting less than 8 hours of sleep per night and feeling groggy. 3) Female students had higher GPAs than male students on average, and students were more likely to drop varsity sports as they neared graduation. While some relationships between sleep and academic performance were observed, the hypothesis that less sleep directly causes lower performance was not supported.

1. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden1
Sleep on Academic Performance: Less sleep associated with
poorer academic performance.
Preston Snowden
Bethany College

2. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden2
Abstract
It is well accepted that sleep and lifestyle habits have relationship with academic
performance in students. We performed a questionnaire-based survey of college students
in attending Bethany College, freshman to senior classes, male and female. The
questionnaire gathered detailed information on sleep habits including the type of sleep
whether it was tense, restless and etc., reasons for missing sleep, academic performance,
study habits, time spent working outside of school, and stress, homework, and many
others. Scales used were a sleep scale by Hays, R. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1992). Sleep
measures. In A. L. Stewart & J. E. Ware (eds.), Measuring functioning and well-being:
The Medical Outcomes Study approach (pp. 235-259), Durham, NC: Duke University
Press. Also while doing this study we used, Ruthig, Joelle C., Haynes, Tara L.,
Stupnisky, Robert H., Perry Raymond P. Perceived Academic Control: mediating the
effects of optimism and social support on college students’ psychological health. Social
Psychology of Education, June 2009, Volume 12, Issue 2, pp 233-249. We wanted to see
if there is a difference between male and female undergraduates with the amount of sleep
and academic performance. Also we want to see if there is a difference with racial
identity as well. There could also be an effect on sorority and fraternity.

3. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden3
Sleep on Academic Performance: Less sleep associated with poorer academic
performance?
Sleep is a special activity of the brain and can impact in many ways if we do not
get the right amount of it. Sleep has its own specific, positive functions. “The recent
discoveries about sleep have been made possible by the growth of brain science”
(Hobson, 1). We now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep
affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we
are just beginning to understand. During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of
sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages progress in a
cycle from stage 1 to REM sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1. “Human
beins consist if two parts: waking and sleeping it thus follows that the human body is
nourished in two ways, namely, by food and rest” (Borbély, 1986). Many people believe
that poor sleep can lead to poor academic performance.
Academic Performance in school is evaluated in a number of ways. For regular
grading, students demonstrate their knowledge by taking written and oral tests,
performing presentations, turning in homework and participating in class activities and
discussions. “Academic performance at any point is a cumulative function of a number of
factors, such as family, community and school experience” (Duggal & Mehta, 2015).
Some factors associated with academic performance are disability characteristics,
functioning, demographics, household characteristics, school programs, and school
experiences. “It may be regarded as the observable and measurable behaviour of a student
in a particular situation. It is measured by the scores obtained from various tests” (Yusuf,
2002). Measuring Academic Performance could be difficult to measure in many ways.

4. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden4
(Pilcher and Walters, 1997) conducted a research involving 44 college student
volunteers (68% response rate). They concluded that sleep-deprived participants had
lower scores on cognitive tasks than non-sleep-deprived participants. However, (Pilcher,
2011) found no significant effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance when
sleep deprived individuals worked on tasks in pairs rather than individually. Moreover,
they found that participants who were deprived of sleep for 24 hours performed
significantly worse on a complex cognitive task than nondeprived participants. Sleep
appears to be related to distinct memory types such as working memory and long-term
memory; (Gomes, A. A., Tavares, J., & de Azevedo, M. P. (2011).
In line with experimental research, ecological studies have found significant
associations between sleep patterns and academic achievement measures, such as grade
point averages (Gomes, A. A., Tavares, J., & de Azevedo, M. P. (2011) and In addition,
sleep patterns are likely to change from high school to university due to alterations in
zeitgebers, such as class schedules and lifestyle preferences.
Parents often commonly experience a change in their children’s sleeping habits as
these individuals enter into college. In this study we wanted to see if less sleep correlates
with poorer Academic Performance. We gathered 50 to 60 Bethany college students,
freshman to seniors who are currently enrolled in the college. These students were asked
to answer a series of questions relating to their sleep and academic performance. These
students may be affected by homework requirements, jobs, sports, social pressure,
availability of television Internet and etc.

5. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden5
However this paper is on Sleep patterns and Academic performance. We
hypothesis that less sleep, poor sleep quality, and late sleep schedules are associated with
poorer academic performance.

6. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden6
Methods
Participants
There were 50 participants (26 African-American, 16 Caucasian, 8 being other
that took part in a handed out survey asking questions on their sleep and academic
performance. The average age of students that participated (M=21.08, SD=3.80). The
year, seeing that 2.8 would be between sophomore and junior years (M=2.80, SD=1.24).
Also finding sleeping behaviors, asking questions on average hours of sleep, credits done,
GPA, credits taken the semester. Extra credit was given to those who participated. All
students were full time Bethany students enrolled in the college, freshman to senior
classes. Participants were African American, white and or other. Them playing in a sport
were around 56% (M=.56), SD=.501).
Materials
Materials used in the study were asked 22 questions with sleep and perceived
academic performance. Non-questions were the age of the student, year, male or female,
collegiate sport or not, and work study, also GPA. The main questions were based around
(Stupnisky, Perry, et al. 2008) scale and (Hays 1992) scale. These questions were, does
the student have trouble falling asleep, does the student have trouble staying awake
during the day, and etc. for the perceived academic performance questions, the students
were asked to answer if they had a great deal of control over their academic performance,
the effort they put into their academic performance and etc. some questioned were added
in as well or manipulated with. Participants or students also completed a consent form at
the beginning of answering these questions.
Procedure

7. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden7
Procedure, the location could not be controlled, so a small area of Bethany college
students were randomly selected to take part. Participants volunteered to participate in
this study, and were told at the end that they will receive extra credit. The measurement
tools used to collect data included one survey regarding participants’ sleep on academic
performance, created together using, The Sleep Scale developed for the Medical
Outcomes Study (MOS Medical Outcomes Study) Hays, R. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1992)
and Perceived Academic Control Scale (Stupnisky, Perry, et al, 2008). Some questions
were adjusted or added in.

8. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden8
Results
The main finding of the survey was that there was no particular correlation
between sleep and academic performance measured by these students.
We found that that lower sleep quality is associated with lower academic
performance. There were 60% of students feeling groggy (41% very groggy) waking up
for classes or school. The average sleep times for all students were around 6.8 hours per
night on weekdays, with a total of 7.2 when naps and rest were included. These college
students believed that around 8 hours of sleep were recommended but very few got to
that goal or did not attain that amount of sleep. In addition, GPA was the most related to
females having higher GPA rates than males (r = -.363, p < .009). Also, we found that
students are most likely to drop out of a sport (r = -.373, p < .008) as they come closer to
their senior year of College. It is destined that you will have lower Academic
Performance with very little sleep.

9. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden9
Discussion
The present study examined associations between sleep patterns reported
throughout the year, self-reported performance measures, and, most importantly, coping
with Academic Performance relative to demographics, lifestyle, and success variables
with these undergrads. Looking at sleep there were a few features observed: tiredness,
sleep schedule and quantity.
Our hypothesis was not supported and did not reveal any particular findings.
Students with less sleep do have a drop in Academic performance somewhat, along with
students with more sleep having a greater chance to perform better and to have a higher
Academic performance. GPA was the most related to sleep and Academic Performance
with females having higher success with GPA than males. Also there were findings of
students most liking to drop out of a sport before their senior year of College. I have
added an appendix section with the questions with a likert like scale. Again, some
questions were added in, adjusted or removed from the questions list.
Limitations of the experiment, the study, sleep did not cover all of the possible
relevant variables that could be related to Academic Performance. Mental or other
medical disorders that might influence both sleep and Academic performance outcomes
also were not controlled, such as mood disorders, eating disorders, anxiety, sleep apnea
and etc. The location was also another that could not be controlled. People also
sometimes do not keep track of how and when they sleep so answers and data could be
false or estimated. Measurement issues could be better by giving maybe more than one
test and by seeing if the students got better with sleep or worse throughout the year.

10. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden10
Students work or play a sport so that could also effect how they sleep and perform in
class.
Future Direction, sufficient sleep with admiration to quantity and better timing are
likely corresponding with better variables for college students how they cope with
Academic performance. There could be a wide amount of things done to help students
such as a healthcare program to encourage student health and better Academic
performance.

11. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden11
References
Borbély, Alexander A. 1986. Secrets of Sleep. Basic Books.
Duggal, M., & Mehta, P. (2015). Antecedents to Academic Performance of College
Students. Paradigm (09718907), 19(2), 197-211.
Gomes, A. A., Tavares, J., & de Azevedo, M. P. (2011). Sleep and Academic
Performance in Undergraduates: A Multi-measure, Multi-predictor Approach.
Chronobiology International: The Journal Of Biological & Medical Rhythm
Research, 28(9), 786-801.
Hays, R. D., & Stewart, A. L. (1992). Sleep measures. In A. L. Stewart & J. E. Ware
(eds.), Measuring functioning and well-being: The Medical Outcomes Study
approach (pp. 235-259), Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Hobson, JA. 1933. Sleep. New York:Scientific American Library.
Perceived Academic Control: mediating the effects of optimism and social
support on college students’ psychological health. Social Psychology of
Education, June 2009, Volume 12, Issue 2, pp 233-249
Pilcher, J. J., & Walters, A. S. (1997). How sleep deprivation affects psychological
variables related to college students' cognitive performance. Journal Of American
College Health, 46121-126.
Ruthig, Joelle C., Haynes, Tara L., Stupnisky, Robert H., Perry Raymond P. Yusuf, A.
(2002). Inter-relationships among academic performance, academic achievement
and learning outcomes. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 1(2), 87–96.

12. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden12
Appendix
Correlations - Preston Snowden
[DataSet1] C:UserspsnowdenDesktopSleep and Academic Performance Varibles.sav
Correlations
year sport job gpa gender.fm badsleep
year
Pearson Correlation 1 -.373** .145 -.231 -.006 .049
Sig. (2-tailed) .008 .314 .107 .964 .735
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
sport
Pearson Correlation -.373** 1 -.051 .050 -.197 .044
Sig. (2-tailed) .008 .726 .731 .171 .762
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
job
Pearson Correlation .145 -.051 1 .044 -.254 -.088
Sig. (2-tailed) .314 .726 .763 .075 .542
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
gpa
Pearson Correlation -.231 .050 .044 1 -.363** -.227
Sig. (2-tailed) .107 .731 .763 .009 .113
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
gender.fm
Pearson Correlation -.006 -.197 -.254 -.363** 1 .188
Sig. (2-tailed) .964 .171 .075 .009 .192
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
badsleep
Pearson Correlation .049 .044 -.088 -.227 .188 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .735 .762 .542 .113 .192
N 50 50 50 50 50 50
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Group Statistics
ethnic N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
S1
1.00 16 4.3125 .60208 .15052
2.00 26 4.3846 .75243 .14756
S2 1.00 16 3.7500 .85635 .21409

13. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden13
2.00 26 4.0000 .84853 .16641
S3
1.00 16 3.8125 .98107 .24527
2.00 26 3.8462 .92487 .18138
S4
1.00 16 4.1875 .75000 .18750
2.00 26 4.4231 .57779 .11331
S5
1.00 16 3.8750 .88506 .22127
2.00 26 3.7308 1.00231 .19657
S6
1.00 16 3.8750 .71880 .17970
2.00 26 3.8462 1.18970 .23332
S7
1.00 16 2.8125 1.16726 .29182
2.00 26 2.5769 1.06482 .20883
S8
1.00 16 3.1875 .75000 .18750
2.00 26 3.6923 1.01071 .19822
S9
1.00 16 3.5000 1.15470 .28868
2.00 26 3.0385 1.31090 .25709
S10
1.00 16 2.8125 .98107 .24527
2.00 26 2.5769 1.20576 .23647
S11
1.00 16 2.9375 1.28938 .32234
2.00 26 2.8462 1.37673 .27000
S12
1.00 16 2.9375 1.23659 .30915
2.00 26 3.0000 .93808 .18397
S13
1.00 16 3.0000 1.21106 .30277
2.00 26 2.8846 1.21085 .23747
S14
1.00 16 1.4375 .89209 .22302
2.00 26 2.0769 1.16355 .22819
S15
1.00 16 4.1250 .80623 .20156
2.00 26 3.8077 1.16685 .22884
S16
1.00 16 1.6875 .79320 .19830
2.00 26 1.6923 .73589 .14432
S17
1.00 16 2.0625 .85391 .21348
2.00 26 2.1923 1.09615 .21497
S18
1.00 16 3.8750 .95743 .23936
2.00 26 3.9615 .82369 .16154
S19
1.00 16 1.8750 .71880 .17970
2.00 26 2.2692 1.04145 .20424
S20
1.00 16 3.8125 .75000 .18750
2.00 26 3.6923 1.01071 .19822
S21
1.00 16 4.1250 1.08781 .27195
2.00 26 4.2308 .81524 .15988
badsleep 1.00 16 25.1875 5.56440 1.39110

14. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden14
2.00 26 25.7308 5.05615 .99159
CORRELATIONS
/VARIABLES=year sport job gpa gender.fm badsleep
/PRINT=TWOTAIL NOSIG
/MISSING=PAIRWISE.
T-TEST GROUPS=ethnic(1 2)
/MISSING=ANALYSIS
/VARIABLES=S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 S19 S20 S21
badsleep
/CRITERIA=CI(.95).
Sleep Scale from the Medical Outcomes Study
4. Get enough sleep to feel rested upon waking in the morning
6. Feel drowsy or sleepy during the day?
7. Have trouble falling asleep?
8. Awaaken during your sleep time and have trouble falling asleep again?
9. Have trouble staying awake during the day?
12. Get the amount of sleep you needed?
Perceived Academic Control Scale (Stupnisky , Perry , et al, 2008)
1. I have a great deal of control over my academic performance.
2. The more effort I put into my courses, the better I do in them.
3. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to do well in my courses.
4. I see myself as largely responsible for my performance throughout my
college career.
6. There is little I can do about my performance in college.

15. Sleep on Academic Performance Snowden15
7. When I do poorly in a course, it’s usually because I haven’t given it my best
effort.
8. My grades are basically determined by things beyond my control and there is
little I can do to change that.