The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Academic Performance Among Graduate Students

Seminary Room N235

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of sleep deprivation on academic performance among graduate students. The participants represented 195 seminary students. Sleep deprivation was measured by sleep duration < 7 hours, while academic performance was measured by GPA level on a 4.0 scale. Data collected through written and electronic surveys, included among the list of questions a validated screening tool known as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Independent Sample T-Test, a Pearson’s correlation test, and a one-way ANOVA compared academic performances between groups of independent variables and to determine the correlation between sleepiness and GPA. SPSS version 27 was used to analyze the data. The Independent Sample T-Test results revealed sleep deprived students performed significantly lower when compared to their peers who were not sleep deprived, (t (175.454) = -4.170, p < .001). Furthermore, the Pearson’s correlation test showed a positive correlation between sleep and academic performance. (r = .295, p < .001), and the one-way ANOVA test showed a difference in GPA level between the five ethnic groups that was statistically significant (f 4,168 = 3.826, p < .05). Sleep deprivation not only impacts physical health, cognitive performance, but it also impacts student’s GPA level.