Effect of Emotional Exhaustion on Academic Performance Mediated by Sleep Quality in Health Sciences Students

Nissa Yaing Torres-Soto, Yann Alfredo Aguilar-Navarro, Beatriz Martínez-Ramírez, Ana Luiza Corrales Baldenebro and Josué Arturo Medina Fernández

Revista Multidisciplinaria Voces de América y el Caribe, 2026, vol. 3, 73-95

Abstract: Emotional exhaustion and poor sleep quality are increasingly prevalent among health sciences students and may negatively affect their academic performance. To analyze the effect of emotional exhaustion on academic performance and to determine the mediating role of sleep quality in health sciences students. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted with 183 university students enrolled in Medicine (n=97), Nursing (n=44), and Pharmacy (n=42), with a mean age of 19.98 years (SD=3.50). Validated instruments with high reliability were used to assess emotional exhaustion (α=.90), sleep quality (α=.80), and academic performance (factor reliability α=.71–.85). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Pearson correlations using SPSS v.26. The mediation hypothesis was tested through structural equation modeling with EQS v.6.1. Emotional exhaustion significantly predicted poorer sleep quality ( =.62), which was negatively associated with academic performance ( = −.45). The proposed model showed an acceptable fit to the data (BBNFI=.90, BBNNFI=.92, CFI=.95, RMSEA=.07, χ²=80.92, d.f.=38, p<.001, χ²/d.f.=2.13). Sleep quality was confirmed as a key mediating mechanism in the relationship between emotional exhaustion and academic performance. Emotional exhaustion indirectly impairs academic performance through sleep deterioration, underscoring the need for university-level interventions aimed at improving emotional well-being and promoting healthy sleep habits.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cvp:remuva:remuvac.v3i1.280

DOI: 10.69821/REMUVAC.v3i1.280

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