SATISFACTION WITH LIFE

Satisfaction with Life



Abstract

Insufficient sleep, poor sleep quality and sleepiness are common problems in children and adolescents being related to learning, memory and school performance. Concerning the relationship between sleep duration and school performance age effects were even larger in studies that included more boys than in studies that included more girls, demonstrating the importance of differential pubertal development of boys and girls. Longitudinal and experimental studies are recommended in order to gain more insight into the different relationships and to develop programs that can improve school performance by changing individuals' sleep patterns. Introduction

Sleep is crucial for students' learning, memory processes and school performance Research shows that poor sleep, increased sleep fragmentation, late bedtimes and early awakenings seriously affect learning capacity, school performance, and neurobehavioral functioning. Nevertheless, due to methodological differences between studies, it is difficult to draw generalizable conclusions about the relationship between sleep and school performance (Roehrs 2005).

Research Background

Previous research indicates an association between insufficient and poor sleep and school performance, however, no systematic review, such as a meta-analysis, exists evaluating the empirical evidence. Meta-analysis is a statistical method combining different study results. It enables the discovery of consistencies in a set of seemingly inconsistent findings. By obtaining an effect size estimate of the true effect more accurate conclusions can be drawn than in a single study or a narrative review. (Groeger 2004) The meta-analysis presented here aims at gaining more insight into the relationship between students' sleep and school performance (Walker 2002).

Problems with initiating and maintaining sleep are common in students and can be seen as indicative of poor sleep quality. Reported prevalence of such problems varies from 11% to 47%.Furthermore, although empirical evidence demonstrates that students require an average sleep time of approximately 9 hours/night7 results revealed that 45% sleep less than 8 hours/night. Insufficient sleep might be caused by an interaction of intrinsic (e.g., puberty, circadian or homeostatic changes) and extrinsic factors leading to later bedtimes while getting up times remain unchanged. Additionally, it is known that approximately 20-50% of students report daytime sleepiness(Fortunato 2008).

Sleep can be defined as an active, repetitive and reversible state of perceptual disengagement from and unresponsiveness to the environment. (Roehrs 2005) Empirical evidence demonstrates an association between sleep and the consolidation of cognitive performance, which is required for executive functioning including abstract reasoning, goal directed behavior, and creative processing. The sleep related overnight brain processes are thought to influence cognitive, physical and emotional performance throughout the day. A possible explanation for the association between sleep and cognitive- as well as school performance is based on the idea that shortness or disruptions of sleep reduces necessary overnight brain activity that is needed for neurocognitive functioning. Complex tasks requiring abstract thinking, creativity, integration, and planning are primarily influenced by sleep-related problems supporting this view. These tasks, representing higher order neurocognitive functioning, are all characterized by an involvement of the prefrontal cortex, which is known to be sensitive to sleep. Based on this evidence it can be suggested that insufficient ...