Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effect of lack of sleep on academic performance
The effect of sleep on memory
The effect of lack of sleep on academic performance
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The effect of lack of sleep on academic performance
Sleep and Learning Lab In this lab we studied the effects of sleep on learning. Using what we have learned in class, we know that the normal sleep period for adults is around an average of 7-8 hours a night. What we wanted to determine by the use of this lab was to show how changing the amount of sleep we get at night might affect our cognitive performance the next day. We can assume that having more or less sleep than the norm, definitely has an effect on our learning, specifically on our short term memory but what our study was designed to test was whether that is a positive or negative effect. We presume that having too little or too much can be detrimental to our learning capacity, specifically our memory retention rate. More specifically, we hypothesized that if we have a normal 8 hour sleep duration, then we will have better memory than if we were to sleep more or less than 8 hours. Although there are no definite conclusions on exactly how much sleep affects a person 's learning potential, we can assume that there is to be some effect, whether it be small or even possibly large. There are debating conclusions on how much sleep we actually need in a night to fully function at our greatest capacity the next day. Some studies show you need as much sleep as our bodies will naturally let us and yet others say we are …show more content…
It is a periodic reversible loss of consciousness, in which varying levels of brain activity occur. Despite the multiple stages and cycles experienced in one night of sleep, the average recommended amount of sleep is seven to eight hours. During this lab, we tested the effects of sleep duration on memory. Conducting three trials of sleep, we were able to determine the validity of our hypothesis. Our research results failed to reject our hypothesis, which stated that getting eight hours of sleep would result in the best memory results compared to the other two
Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2008). Reactivation and consolidation of memory during sleep. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 188-192. doi: 10.1111/j.14678721.2008.00572.x
Sleep loss and shifting sleep patterns are known to be widespread across college campuses throughout the United States and the world at large. Yet, while many studies exist relating sleep to performance, a much smaller amount of studies focus on the Through analysis of these sources as they would prove useful when researching and writing upon the idea of sleep and its correlation to academic performance it was found that a paper titled “Sleep-Wake Patterns and Academic Performance in University Students”, which was presented to the European Conference on Educational Research, is overall the most useful source represented to research the topic.
Sleep is a condition of the mind and body in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes are closed, the muscles are relaxed and consciousness is practically suspended. On average a person needs between seven and nine hours of sleep, which can be hard to achieve with the stresses of life. Sleep can drastically affect how the mind functions. Studies have found that a lack of sleep can decrease motor skills and affect a persons memory. Among memory and motor skills, lack of sleep can negatively affect cognition. Cognition is the process of thinking which is needed for the writing process and other creative elements. If people increase the amount of sleep they receive, then there writing process will be better. Some studies have
Many times people think they can accomplish more if they could eliminate so much sleeping time. However, they are only hurting their productivity if they lose sleep. Two articles deal with the issue of sleep deprivation. The College Student Journal published an article about the grade-point average of college students and sleep length, while U.S. News & World Report produced an article dealing with the lack of
Many studies of the role of sleep are partial or total sleep deprivation studies which support Oswold’s restoration theory. One of these supporting studies was Dement’s. He deprived participants of REM sleep and consequently found that they increased their number of attempted REM stages from 12 to 26 over 4-7 nights. During their first uninterrupted night, participants increased their REM sleep by 10% which is known as REM rebound. This suggests the importance of REM and the possibility that the purpose of sleep is to get into REM sleep. The participants reported anxiety, irritability and difficulty concentrating which shows that REM sleep is needed to avoid these affects and enable brain recovery which corresponds with Oswold’s theory. Even so, Dement’s study has low ecological validity, it has low population validity because there were only 8 participants and they were a self-selected sample. Participants would probably have shown demand characteristics because the experiment took place in a lab. It also has low mundane realism because people would not usually sleep in a lab and be interrupted repeatedly.
Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
Sleep deprivation is a commonplace occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended period of time. While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false (1). Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person's behavior. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not sleeping so long as they are resting. This could involve lying awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Even though cognitive functions might not seem necessary in this scenario the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is not able to rest but rather remains semi-alert in a state of "quiet readiness" (2). Certain stages of sleep are needed for the regeneration of neurons within the cerebral cortex while other stages of sleep seem to be used for forming new memories and generating new synaptic connections. The effects of sleep deprivation on behavior have been tested with relation to the presence of activity in different sections of the cerebral cortex.
Sleeping is something that is an essential part of human nature and is a must in order for one to be a functional human being. Sleep is an idea that is accompanied by many wives’ tales, including the ideas that one needs seven to eight hours of sleep each night and alcohol helps one fall asleep and sleep more soundly. One myth about sleep is that during sleeping, one is in a state of nothingness. In truth, however, it has been discovered that during sleep the brain is active, variations in heartbeat and breathing occur, and the eyes and ears are active throughout the time of sleep. These activities during a person’s sleep are important because they help that person be more aware, awake, and alert during consciousness. If all of these important activities occur during sleep, why is it that people are so willing to short themselves of this vital activity? Although much about sleep still remains a mystery, research and experiments continue to show how important sleep is to each and every person. Throughout this paper, I will discuss sleep and the effects that it has on performance and health, especially in college students. A college student’s sleeping pattern is a reliable indicator to their level of performance in the classroom and other school-affiliated activities, as a lack of sleep leads to decreased performance. Sleep is directly related the level of performance and health in an individual; the more rested a person is, the better that person will perform and feel (Dryer, 2006).
Each night, the average person spends approximately 7-9 hours giving their bodies a restful vacation in the land of dreams. Considering this, we spend 1/3 (or 25 years) of our entire lives engaging in this idle activity. Although these numbers can appear as a waste of time in our every day lives, sleeping and/or napping is the energy that helps fuel our bodies to function correctly. Sleep is a necessary function in our every day routine in order to make our brains function at the most efficient level. As we sleep, the brain helps us to recuperate and regain strength by “restoring and repairing the brain tissue” (Myers, 2010, p 99). Without this reviving process, we would all eventually deteriorate. By impairing the sleep deprived mentally and physically, it can potentially cause serious harm. We must fade our conscious mind, and let our mind relax within subconscious state.
Sleep studies have been around for as far back as 1913. The start times of school and how it affects student academics is not usually looked at by most schools, but start times actually affect academic performance because it changes adolescents normal sleep cycle, creates a lack of sleep which affects the way children learn, and later start times create better performance. All of these theories have been tested with sleep studies and most of them were found to be true.
Sleep is an integral part of life, but differs from other states of reduced consciousness in that the brain is still somewhat active. Sleep is an “altered state of consciousness, [with the sleeper losing] substantial contact with the external world.” (Gazzaniga, M., & Heatherton, T., 2016). Nonetheless, brain activity has an extensive role in the creation of “sleep”, generating two distinct types - slow-wave sleep, also referred to as deep sleep, and rapid eye movement, also called the dreaming stage. Comprised of five stages, sleep is a complex state of mind, also consisting of patterns known as circadian rhythms. Operating as a behavior, sleep alters to suit our bodily needs, and informs us of such needs through an intricate network of nerves. Furthermore, without obtaining an ideal amount of sleep, problems can arise that may affect one’s wellbeing. Detailed research and studies previously conducted on the subject of sleep allows the accumulation of information to be
Sleep has always been a popular subject among humans. There have been many studies that examine sleep and its correlation with a wide variety of variables, such as depression, energy levels, and grades. Students, as a group, are widely studied. As the world’s future leaders and thinkers, there is great importance placed on their achievements. In this study the effect of student sleep habits on perceived academic performance is investigated. Many things may affect students’ academic success among these variables are sleep habits.
Sleep plays a vital role in a person’s mental well-being. Sleeping affects how well people think, react, work, learn, and get along with others. While a person is sleeping, his brain is preparing to help him learn and remember information. A good night’s sleep enhances learning and problem solving skills. It is very important for the students to have sound sleep as it can improve their concentration, memory and creativity. Furthermore, having enough sleep increases the ability to m...
... learning is that coping with a lack of sleep was a lot easier when I was younger. At a younger age, I could function with little or no sleep and work longer hours with little or no change in cognitive performance. With age, I am learning that lack of sufficient sleep not only a impairs working memory, but also other functions such as long term memory and decision making. There also may be other factors involved such as psychological mechanisms as well as social or environmental factors. With that being said, all I know is that a good night of sleep makes me feel physically and mentally healthier.
Rasch, Björn, and Jan Born. "About Sleep 's Role in Memory." Physiological Reviews. American Physiological Society, n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.