Influence of Sleeping Patterns in Health and Academic Performance Among University Students

María Dolores Toscano-Hermoso, Félix Arbinaga, Eduardo J. Fernández-Ozcorta, Juan Gómez-Salgado and Carlos Ruiz-Frutos
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María Dolores Toscano-Hermoso: Faculty of Nursing, Department of Nursing, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
Félix Arbinaga: Faculty of Education, Psychology and Sports Science, Department of Clinical and Experimental Psychology, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
Eduardo J. Fernández-Ozcorta: Department of Physical Activity and Sports, Center for University Studies Cardenal Spínola CEU, University of Seville attached centre, 41930 Bormujos, Spain
Juan Gómez-Salgado: School of Labour Sciences, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
Carlos Ruiz-Frutos: School of Labour Sciences, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Sleep problems in university students are important and have implications for health, quality of life, and academic performance. Using an ex post facto design, a total sample of 855 students (55.7% women) participated in the study. Sleep assessment was conducted using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Nightmare Frequency Scale, the Nightmare Proneness Scale, and the Composite Morningness Scale. Women show a higher risk [OR = 2.61] of presenting poor sleep quality (> 5 points on the PSQI) compared with men ( p < 0.001). Similarly, women reported a greater frequency of nightmares ( p < 0.001, d = 0.60), greater propensity for nightmares ( p < 0.001, d = 0.70) and a higher score on Item-5h of the PSQI regarding nightmares ( p < 0.001, d = 0.59). Women, compared with men, show higher risk [OR = 2.84] for a sleep disorder related to nightmares ( p = 0.012). Women need more time to reach a state of alertness after getting up ( p = 0.022), and there was an interaction between sex and the alertness factor when evaluating the subjective quality of sleep ( p = 0.030). Women show worse sleep quality and a higher frequency and propensity for suffering nightmares. When considering the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance, it is observed that students with poor sleep quality obtain lower academic scores (M = 7.21, SD = 0.805) than those with good sleep quality (M = 7.32, SD = 0.685), an effect that reaches significance ( t = 2.116, p = 0.035). Regarding the relationship between the categorized chronotype and academic performance, students with a morning chronotype achieve better academic results (M = 7.41, SD = 0.89) than their evening counterparts (M = 7.15, SD = 0.76), although these differences have a small effect size ( d = 0.31).

Keywords: chronotype; gender; individual differences; lifestyle; nightmares; sleep quality; university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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