KU Leuven Study: Sleep Duration and Academic Performance Correlation

This report investigates the correlation between sleep duration and academic performance, based on a study conducted at KU Leuven. The research involved an online survey of 25 students, assessing their sleep patterns, study efficiency, and concentration levels. The findings revealed that students who slept 7-8 hours per night exhibited the highest study efficiency and concentration, while those with less than 7 hours of sleep showed lower performance. The study highlights the crucial role of adequate sleep in supporting cognitive functions and enhancing academic outcomes. The report also acknowledges other factors influencing performance and suggests further research to address unanswered questions, such as the impact of sleep timing and individual differences in focus. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of 7-8 hours of sleep for optimal brain function and academic success, advocating for student awareness of sleep deprivation's impact.

The influence of sleep at night on academic performance
Abstract
Sleep has many substantial effects on human body, it has a huge impact on the brain,
supporting with all cognitive functions such as concentration, memory as well as critical
thinking. The primary objective of this study is to recognize the effects of sleeping at
night on the academic performance. In this study, an online questionnaire was provided
to students containing questions concerning their sleep duration at night and their study
efficiency, then according to the data collected, we will compare the number of hours of
sleep at night with the study efficiency. Results show that those who sleep 7 to 8 hours
at night had the highest study efficiency. Results also demonstrate that students who
had the lowest study efficiency are those who are having less than 7 hours of sleep at
night, while those who sleep more than 7 to 8 hours at night were in between the other
groups in terms of their study efficiency. According to our results, there is a relationship
between the hours of sleep at night and academic performance. Thus, 7 to 8 hours of
night sleep are required for a brain to function optimally which leads to a high academic
performance.
Introduction
Sleep is very crucial to maintain a good and a healthy lifestyle. It helps students study at
an optimal level and is important for brain functioning and helping with all the cognitive
functions such as memory, learning, decision making, and critical thinking (Werchan &
Gómez 2014). This makes sleep extremely important for academic performance
(Boergers, Gable & Owens 2014). However, not everyone is having enough sleep to
function correctly, especially university students.
Research shows that lack of sleep is one of the main reasons college students receive
low academic scores. Indeed, not everyone gets adequate amounts of sleep in order to
function properly throughout the day (Fullagar et al. 2015). Because of poor sleep
quality and sleep deprivation, poor academic performance is especially evident among
college students.

It also shows that the number of hours students sleep in a 24-hour period has greatly
decreased over the years while sleep dissatisfaction has increased (Lemola et al.
2015). The human body normally requires seven hours of night sleep and eight to nine
hours of daily sleep.
Sleepiness is inversely proportional to hours of sleep, and it may have a substantial
adverse effect on general health and quality of life (Cheng et al. 2012). Conversely,
adequate sleep can lead to a better quality of life, physical and social health, life
satisfaction, performance, and longevity.
The goal of this research is to examine how sleeping affects academic performance.
Research question:
How do the hours students sleep at night affect their academic performance?
Hypothesis:
In order to maintain a good academic performance, the human body requires at least
seven hours of sleep every night.
Methods
In order to find an answer to this question, an online survey was conducted regarding
the effect of sleep duration at night on study efficiency and concentration during
lectures.
The study included a total of 25 participants, gender was not considered, aged between
18 to 25 (M = 21,5 SD = 3,5).
Participants were recruited from different campuses in KUL. All participants have
agreed to be included in the study.
The survey was placed on a student platform on Facebook using SurveyMonkey.
The students were asked about their sleeping period at night, study efficiency and their
focus during classes on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest)
.
Results
The following chart illustrates the number of hours the students sleep at night.

According to the chart 60%(n=15, SD=3.4) of students sleeps seven to eight hours per
night, while only 28%(n=7, SD=2.7) sleeps less than seven hours per night and 12%
(n=3, SD=2.9) are having more than eight hours of sleep at night.
The data we have collected shows that the students that sleep seven to eight hours,
have a study efficiency between 70%-85%, while those with a study efficiency between
30%-50% get no more than seven hours of sleep per night. Lastly, just above 10% of
students are having more than eight hours of sleep per night with study efficiency that
varies between 50%-70%.
The graph represents the relationship between the hours of sleep per night and the
level of concentration during lectures.
Looking at the graph it is obvious that those who sleep seven hours had the highest
level of concentration. However, those who are the least concentrated during lectures
are those are having less than seven hours of sleep. Moreover, students that are getting
more than eight hours of sleep per night were in between the other groups
concentration wise.

Discussion
In this paper, we have investigated effects of sleep at night on the academic
performance. From the results that we have received, we can see that according to our
Hypothesis, in order to maintain a good academic performance, the human body
requires at least seven hours of sleep every night (Werchan & Gómez 2014).
We conclude so, because students that sleep at least seven hours at night had the
highest study efficiency as well as the highest level of concentration during lectures.
Studies show that a good night’s sleep enhances learning. In other words, sleep helps
improve our learning and problem-solving skills as well as paying attention, making
decisions and creativity (Fullagar et al. 2015). Studies also show that lack of sleep make
changes to activity in some parts of the brain. Thus, if you’re having a lack of sleep you
may have problems in making decisions, solving problem, concentrating and motivation.
There are more factors than just sleep duration that affect the concentration during
lectures as well as study efficiency such as the quality of sleep and the individual ability
to focus during lectures that varies from a student to another.
Moreover, there are some unanswered questions, for instance, is there a difference
between going to bed at a certain hour and another (sleeping from 10pm to 5am or from
12 am to 7 am). Furthermore, is there a difference between sleeping every day at the
same hour and going to sleep at a different hour every day regardless of the sleep
duration (Werchan & Gómez 2014).
In order to find a solution for these unanswered questions, we will expand our survey to
cover all the aspects mentioned above, along with including an IQ test with the purpose
of comparing the effect of sleep duration on academic performance between students
with a similar IQ level so that we can narrow the factors that affect the concentration
during lectures (e.g.: individual intelligence and ability to concentrate for a certain
period).
According to the study, it is found that sleep deprivation has affected ability of student
for performing well in their classes (Fullagar et al. 2015). There have been sleep
deprivation for affecting academic preferences (Cheng et al. 2012). There has been
various differences in sleeping hours of the student in the classes. Therefore, their
performances in the classroom have been different to others. Sleep has been an
effective measure for increasing performance of students. The IQ test has been

reflecting improvements and distinguishing characteristics of students related to
academic performances.
Sleep has been improving the learning and problem solving skills by paying attention.
The study represents that sleep has been helping in relaxing our brain and increase
efficiency. Studies also show that lack of sleep make changes to activity in some parts
of the brain (Fullagar et al. 2015). Therefore, due to lack of sleep, students are not able
to perform well in their academics. This results in lack of confidence and motivation
among students (Werchan & Gómez 2014). Number of hours slept by the students at
night have been directly proportional to the performance in their studies. The results
shows that those students who used to sleep around 7 to 8 hours in a day have better
academic performances.
Conclusion
This study is designed to measure how much could sleep at night affect the academic
performance of students. Sleep plays an important role in good health and well-being
throughout human life. Having enough quality sleep at night can be helpful in terms of
protecting our mental health as well as our physical health. During sleep our body is
working to support a healthy brain functioning and preserve our physical health. Sleep
deprivation can harm our body over time. For instance, not getting a good quality sleep
can increase the risk for some chronic health problems. Moreover, it can affect the way
you think, react, learn and concentrate. To notice how night sleep affects academic
performance, an online survey has been given to KU Leuven students containing
questions regarding their study efficiency together with the number of hours of sleep
they get every night. Thereafter, we compared the results and made conclusions. The
results of this study show that students who sleep seven to eight hours at night had a
higher study efficiency as well as a higher concentration during lectures than those who
are having less or more than seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Thus, according
to the results, sleep is an important factor that has an influence on the academic
performance and the ideal amount of sleep is between 7 to 8 hours every night. This is
substantial for students because some of them are not aware of the risks of sleep
deprivation which has a huge impact on their performance and concentration during
classes.

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