Running head: SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 1

Relationship between Sleep, Stress, Academic Performance and Concentration

Bryanna Medina

Saddleback College
SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 2

Abstract

In this study we researched the relationships and possible correlations between sleep,

stress, concentration and academic performance. Our hypothesis of a few main

relationships are that as stress increases, academic performance worsens as with

concentration scores, and as the quantity and quality of sleep increases, stress levels

decrease. We also hypothesize that as both the amount and quality of sleep increases,

academic performance increases as with concentration too, and as the ability to

concentrate increases, academic performance will also increase. We surveyed several

classes taught by one professor measuring all variables with a perceived stress scale,

and a 7 point likert scale. Results that stood out for us was a negative correlation found

with sleep quality & stress levels, a small level of significance of a positive correlation

was found with concentration and sleep quality. Additionally results found to be

intriguing was the absence of significant correlation between sleep quantity and

academic performance as with concentration and stress levels.

Key words: sleep, concentration, academic performance, stress

 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 3

Relationship between Sleep, Stress, Academic Performance and Concentration

Curiosity led me to question the important aspects of student life. Which leading

factors play a part in determining the functionality of a student? Things we do know that

students experience are sleep deprivation, academic stress but the extent of this we

don't know much about. It could be beneficial to explore how students' stress levels and

academic performance do in relation to sleep and concentration or vice versa.

Pinpointing how students function with these other important factors of student life may

better the function of students and professors together. This could help incorporate

programs for students to recall material better and have an overall better quality of

student life.

Sleep is a known indicator of mood and executive functioning. Without proper

sleep anyone can wake up with a limited functioning capacity. This one study showed

that students who had bad sleeping issues were positively correlated with academic

performance (Chiang et al, 2014). A study on the relationship between sleep and

academic performance found sleep to have a positive relationship with academic

performance. The more the bad sleep habits the worse academic performance showed.

Interestingly, one study has shown that the relationship between stress and

concentration found to show that the stress from after a Trier Social Stress Test showed

people are more concentrated than before the d2 Test of Attention. This study analyzed

the effects of stress on concentration performance, finding that after the psychosocial

stressful situation (Trier Social Stress Test) people were more concentrated and did

better on the d2 Test of Attention (Degroote et al., 2020).

 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 4

Seemingly stress is on every student's mind when it comes to school but knowing

more about students' sleep habits could give us more insight into students academic

function and overall concentration. Knowing the specifics of how stress correlates with

students' academic performance has led us to test our hypothesis about the relationship

between sleep, stress, academic performance and concentration. Could the correlation

between these paired important aspects of a student be positively correlated? We put

together a correlational study to assess the relationship between stress, sleep,

academic performance, and concentration. It was predicted that for students the better

the sleep quality and lower the stress level but the higher the stress then we see poor

sleep quality. Additionally with the better the sleep and the lower the stress then we may

see better academic performance and concentration.

Methods

Participants

Participants include XX amount of students, age ranging from X – X with an

average age of X from saddleback college. Participants are given incentive to

participate by being given extra credit to complete the survey truthfully. Participants are

told the study is anonymous and confidential and participation was voluntary.

Procedure

The survey is created with Google Forms and shared electronically through the

school. To assess GPA we simply ask for that to be entered, this is how we

operationalized academic performance. For sleep quality we assess on a scale from 1-7

(strongly disagree to strongly agree) with an additional 9 item questionnaire. For sleep
 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 5

quantity we ask with two items to receive within a range how many hours were slept.

For concentration we give a 10 item questionnaire with a scale given of 1-7 (strongly

disagree to strongly agree). Lastly stress is assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale, a

10 item questionnaire with a scale of 0-4 (never to very often).

Results

JASP was used for all statistical analyses, with α = 0.05, two-tailed. Pearson r

was calculated to determine if GPA was linked to sleep quality (Figure 1). There was a

slight significant positive correlation between sleep quality and academic performance

[r(34) = 0.081, (P= 0.650)] but not enough significance to be accounted for. Specifically,

students who spend less time in quality sleep tend to have higher GPA scores.
 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 6

Additionally, we tested whether there was a difference in sleep quality and

concentration. Figure 2 depicts concentration against sleep quality scores in correlation

plots. There was a significant positive correlation between sleep quality and

concentration [r(34) = 0.391, (P= 0.022)]. Specifically, students who spent more time in

quality sleep tended to have higher concentration scores.

 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 7

Lastly, we assessed if there was a difference between stress and sleep quality.

Stress level scores for all classes are shown in Figure 3. A paired correlation test

revealed a significant negative correlation between stress level scores and sleep quality

[r(34) = -0.380, (P= 0.027)].

 SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 8

Further correlation tests between academic performance and stress revealed

that participants had higher GPA scores when stress levels are high [r(34) = -0.236, (P=

0.178)]. There was no significance, however, in GPA scores and stress level scores

(Figure 4).
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Discussion

Our main hypothesis is if one’s stress levels have a correlation with sleep,

concentration, and academic performance. This study's results correctly reflect our

hypothesis about concentration and sleep quality where the better a student is able to

sleep, the better their concentration level. We equally found that there was no significant

correlation between sleep quality and academic performance despite being positive.

The following relationships were found not statistically significant though gave insight

towards our hypothesis:

● Concentration against stress, and academic performance

● Stress against academic performance

● Sleep quality against academic performance

● Sleep Quantity against academic performance, concentration, stress

SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 10

We found that because of the close proximity of GPAs in our sample there was no

correlation found with academic performance & stress despite results being positive yet

the magnitude was too small to account for. We found that in areas where we saw no

significant correlation is an area that must be explored further. Results reflect past

research results about sleep quality and quantity being positively correlated though did

not follow through in our results when compared individually to stress, concentration

and academic performance. Slight discrepancies in demographics may play part in this

inconsistency.

Because the study is a cross-sectional design where we collect data from one

sample at one point in time, racial and ethnic groups are over-represented, so we can’t

generalize the findings. The study sample is skewed towards participants who are

female, single, young, and of white/European origin. The role of sociodemographic

factors in influencing sleep quality and concentration should be considered in future

research.The study also relied entirely on self-reported data for its measures. Results of

this study are not generalizable since it was conducted at only one college. Another

limitation of the study is the lack of assessment of relevant lifestyle factors. So, we

recommend that in future studies, researchers collect more detailed information on

sleep quality, living arrangements, hours worked a week, nutrition and physical activity.

Based on our results, we concluded that there is little correlation significance between

stress levels and sleep quality (p=0.027) as well as a small significant correlation

between sleep quality and concentration levels (p=0.022).

Exploring the effects of lifestyle choices on sleep quality and concentration could prove

to be an insightful area of study. It could be beneficial to investigate how this

SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 11

relationship changes over time too. Encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and promoting

healthy sleep habits can be an effective way to help students increase their sleep

quality and reduce their stress levels. Providing students with the tools to manage their

sleep quality can have a profound effect on their concentration. Further investigation

into the role of other factors, such as nutrition and physical activity, could contribute to

an even more comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between these elements.

SLEEP, STRESS, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND CONCENTRATION 12

References

Cifre, A. B., Walters, K. S., & Budnick, C. J. (2020). College student sleep and executive

functioning: An examination of potential moderators. Translational Issues in

Psychological Science, 6(4), 412-427. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000258

Chiang, Y., Arendt, S. W., Zheng, T., & Hanisch, K. A. (2014). The effects of sleep on

academic performance and job performance. College Student Journal, 48(1),

72–87. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/aeshm_pubs/117/

Degroote, C., Schwaninger, A., Heimgartner, N., Hedinger, P., Ehlert, U., & Wirtz, P. H.

(2020). Acute stress improves concentration performance. Experimental

Psychology, 67(2), 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000481