Sleep and Academic Performance Among Student Pharmacists
Sleep and Academic Performance Among Student Pharmacists
Objective. To identify sleep patterns and frequency of daytime sleepiness and to assess the association between sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.
Methods. A cross-sectional design was used. An anonymous self-administered paper questionnaire was administered to first-year through third-year students at a pharmacy school.
Results. Questionnaires were completed by 364 student pharmacists (79.4% response rate and 93.8% cooperation rate). More than half of student pharmacists obtained less than 7 hours of sleep at night during a typical school week (54.7%) and a large majority on the night prior to an examination (81.7%). Almost half (47.8%) felt daytime sleepiness almost every day. Longer sleep duration the night prior to an examination was associated with higher course grades and semester grade point averages (GPAs).
Conclusion. A majority of student pharmacists had suboptimal durations of sleep, defined as fewer than 7 hours. Adequate sleep the night prior to an examination was positively associated with student course grades and semester GPAs.
Adequate sleep optimally impacts mental functioning and therefore impacts students' performance on examinations and ultimately grades received. The pattern of sleep one experiences in a 24-hour period directly correlates with physical health, mood, and mental functioning. Suboptimal sleep is a national problem, with more than a quarter of the US adult population not obtaining the recommended 7 hours of sleep each night. Increasing public knowledge of the positive effects of adequate sleep and increasing the proportion of adults who obtain sufficient amounts of sleep to improve health, wellness, productivity, quality of life, and public safety is a national health objective reflected in Healthy People 2020.
Cognitive performance is susceptible to inadequate sleep durations, defined as fewer than 7 hours a day for adults. Inadequate sleep decreases general alertness and impairs attention, resulting in slowed cognitive processing. Lack of adequate sleep also interferes with the function of brain structures critical to cognitive processes. The most notably impacted structure is the prefrontal cortex, which executes higher brain functions including language, working memory, logical reasoning, and creativity. Yoo et al demonstrated that a single night of shortened sleep duration resulted in decreased memory encoding, which led to less knowledge retention, an effect suggesting the hippocampus was affected.
Studies assessing the impact of sleep on academic performance focus primarily on teens, adolescents, and undergraduate students. Few studies have explored sleep habits in populations of students who are pursing health care degrees. Those studies that have, found sleep complaints were common in medical students and poor sleep habits were correlated with changes in academic performance. However, studies that provide knowledge about sleep habits among student pharmacists have yet to be conducted in the United States. Research is needed to provide student pharmacists with tangible evidence they can use to make daily decisions regarding their sleep as it relates to their academic success.
Ours was an exploratory study of sleep patterns and their association with academic performance at one pharmacy school. Specific study objectives were to identify sleep patterns among student pharmacists and the frequency of daytime sleepiness during the school week and to assess the association between sleep duration and academic performance among these students.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective. To identify sleep patterns and frequency of daytime sleepiness and to assess the association between sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists.
Methods. A cross-sectional design was used. An anonymous self-administered paper questionnaire was administered to first-year through third-year students at a pharmacy school.
Results. Questionnaires were completed by 364 student pharmacists (79.4% response rate and 93.8% cooperation rate). More than half of student pharmacists obtained less than 7 hours of sleep at night during a typical school week (54.7%) and a large majority on the night prior to an examination (81.7%). Almost half (47.8%) felt daytime sleepiness almost every day. Longer sleep duration the night prior to an examination was associated with higher course grades and semester grade point averages (GPAs).
Conclusion. A majority of student pharmacists had suboptimal durations of sleep, defined as fewer than 7 hours. Adequate sleep the night prior to an examination was positively associated with student course grades and semester GPAs.
Introduction
Adequate sleep optimally impacts mental functioning and therefore impacts students' performance on examinations and ultimately grades received. The pattern of sleep one experiences in a 24-hour period directly correlates with physical health, mood, and mental functioning. Suboptimal sleep is a national problem, with more than a quarter of the US adult population not obtaining the recommended 7 hours of sleep each night. Increasing public knowledge of the positive effects of adequate sleep and increasing the proportion of adults who obtain sufficient amounts of sleep to improve health, wellness, productivity, quality of life, and public safety is a national health objective reflected in Healthy People 2020.
Cognitive performance is susceptible to inadequate sleep durations, defined as fewer than 7 hours a day for adults. Inadequate sleep decreases general alertness and impairs attention, resulting in slowed cognitive processing. Lack of adequate sleep also interferes with the function of brain structures critical to cognitive processes. The most notably impacted structure is the prefrontal cortex, which executes higher brain functions including language, working memory, logical reasoning, and creativity. Yoo et al demonstrated that a single night of shortened sleep duration resulted in decreased memory encoding, which led to less knowledge retention, an effect suggesting the hippocampus was affected.
Studies assessing the impact of sleep on academic performance focus primarily on teens, adolescents, and undergraduate students. Few studies have explored sleep habits in populations of students who are pursing health care degrees. Those studies that have, found sleep complaints were common in medical students and poor sleep habits were correlated with changes in academic performance. However, studies that provide knowledge about sleep habits among student pharmacists have yet to be conducted in the United States. Research is needed to provide student pharmacists with tangible evidence they can use to make daily decisions regarding their sleep as it relates to their academic success.
Ours was an exploratory study of sleep patterns and their association with academic performance at one pharmacy school. Specific study objectives were to identify sleep patterns among student pharmacists and the frequency of daytime sleepiness during the school week and to assess the association between sleep duration and academic performance among these students.
