SLEEP AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA

*Dr. Foluke O. Adeniji, Dr. Israel S. Osaat, Dr. Chikodi U. Ihenacho and Dr. Princess I.A. Obi

ABSTRACT

Background: Sleep is one of our basic needs and plays a very important role in maintaining our physical, intellectual and emotional health .The aim of this study was to find out the average duration of sleep and its effect on academic performance among undergraduate of the University of Port Harcourt. Design and methods: A cross-sectional study using a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from respondents. Data was collated and analysed with SPSS vs 20. Results: A total of 270 undergraduates were involved in the study, 156 (57.8%) and 114 (42.2%) were females and males respectively. Results revealed that respondents slept for about 377±79.66 minutes (6hrs17mins±1.33hours) They slept for 7hours on normal days and 1hr35mins significantly less during examinations (p<0.05). There was no significant relationship between sleep duration and overall GPA of the students, however, there was, a negative moderate correlation between sleep duration and lower grades (3rd class) during examinations (r=-0.60, r2=0.36, p=0.01). Conclusions: The finding, showed that having high grades in school may be the result of a combination of some other factors, that, adequate sleep duration only serves as a prerequisite to attaining good academic fit and may not predict high academic performance. Therefore, undergraduate students need to strike a balance between sleep and other activities that promote academic performance, ensuring they have only adequate sleep for optimal cognitive function.

Keywords: Sleep; undergraduates; performance.