UVAS

ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

SYEDA SANIYA WAJID

2021-AM-057
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

STUDY OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Researcher:

Syeda Saniya Wajid

Proposed Supervisor:

Dr. Asad Iqbal

Institute of Microbiology

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

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 Table of Contents
Topic ………………… pg. 1

Abstract ………………… pg. 3

Introduction ………………… pg. 4

 Problem statement ………………… pg. 4
 Research question………………… pg. 5
 Objectives of the study ………………… pg. 5
 Significance of the study ………………… pg. 5
 Limitations of the study ………………… pg. 5

Literature Review ………………… pg. 6

Methodology ………………… pg. 8

References ………………… pg. 8

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 ABSTRACT
Sleep deprivation is common amongst university students who live in a culture that promotes
reduced sleep, due to the burden of academic work and social pursuits. The reasons for poor
sleep hygiene include alcohol and caffeine intake, stimulants, and technology, which prevent
students achieving sufficient sleep time and quality. Poor sleep quality among students is a
rising concern as it affects their well being. The top three outcomes of sleep deprivation are
exhaustion, fatigue and pessimism and succeeded by health risks, as well as a decline in
thinking. Thus, to minimize having debt in sleep is to recognize the effects of sleep deprivation
and establish a proper sleeping schedule. This paper investigates the factors that contribute to
sleep loss, and the correlating effects it has on university students’ academic performance.

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 INTRODUCTION
Sleep is a physiological process essential to humans and their normal functioning. Sleep habits
and problems are also influenced by physical, mental, and environmental factors such as age,
gender, job, lifestyle, emotional tension, and noise. Adults require on average between seven
and nine hours of sleep each night. Both the quantity and quality of sleep play an important role
in an individual’s psychological and physical well-being. During sleep, the brain conducts
memory consolidation and integration; adequate and quality sleep eliminates concentration
difficulties without which, judgments, mood, and ability to learn and retain information are
weakened. Sleep also allows the brain to better process new experiences and knowledge which
increases understanding and retention.
The essence of sleep is to keep life in balance, ensuring that energy used during day time will
also be replenished by resting at night. However, when sleep is interrupted and unable to
achieve a blissful rest, it may compromise the health and unfolding tasks that students need to
accomplish. Sleep deprivation causes a series of changes in an individual’s mood, cognitive
ability and work performance. It not only damages the physical and mental health of students
but seriously affects learning, understanding and reasoning abilities of students.
Young adults need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Studies conducted on sleep indicate that one-
third of adults suffer from sleep problems and that students sleep less compared to the general
population because of academic stress. University students are particularly susceptible to these
increasing demands on sleep. Poor sleep quality has been found to be associated with high
failure rates and poor academic performance. Students with poor academic performance spend
more hours at night reading and often deprive themselves of sleep in a bid to improve their
grades. This creates a vicious cycle that is associated with an adverse effect on sleep quality
and mental health. Sleep quality and duration is affected by factors such as age, gender and
lifestyle. Lifestyle factors such as diet, caffeine, drug use, and exercise may contribute to sleep
disturbances.

Problem Statement

On any given day students can go from being moderately tired to absolutely exhausted,
wandering about campus like zombies waiting to go home. As a society we are becoming more
and more health conscience but seemingly more exhausted. There are never enough hours in
the day so there is a tendency to stay up late into the night. As finals approach and assignments
pile up, it is safe to assume students will be busy with essays and projects so much so that
sleep becomes unimportant. Sleeping too little can lead to over sleeping which can leave
students feeling just as tired as when they went to sleep.
Seven hours is the recommended amount of sleep, how many students make sure they get it?
Sleep deprivation should not be overlooked as it causes many issues from performance in
coursework to anxiety and health problem.

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Research Questions

 How aware are students of sleep deprivation?

 How many students suffer from insomnia?
 How much sleep does the average student get?
 How much sleep does the average student think they need?
 Does age, living on campus, being a certain sex or being in a certain course have an effect
on how many hours students sleep?
 Do assignments have an effect on the amount of sleep students get?
 What time do students normally go to sleep at?

Objectives of the study

The objective of this study is to ascertain how sleep deprivation affects college students. This
study will attempt to identify a relationship between sleep deprivation and decreased
performance, decreased cognitive function, and stress. Determining if sleep deprivation is an
issue will include, investigating university students’ sleep patterns by conducting surveys. The
surveys will pinpoint the characteristics of sleep loss by asking questions that are specific to
university students’ sleeping patterns.
This study could fill in certain gaps, such as if students are truly sleep deprived, whether they
are aware of it, and whether they are aware of its detrimental repercussions, which include
anxiety, sadness, and subpar academic performance.

Significance of the study

The results of the study will be of great benefit to the following:
Students: This study benefits students enrolled at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
who are experiencing sleep deprivation. This research will change the students' perspective so
that both academic performance and their health will not be affected. This study will explain the
cause and effect of sleeplessness on how it takes a toll on their health, day-to-day activities,
and school performance.
Teachers: Meanwhile, this research study will also change the perspective of teachers
especially, in giving assignments, projects, and exams. Additionally, this research will
enumerate the negative impacts of sleep deprivation of which teachers will take notice.

Limitations of the study

When conducting this research, ethical dilemmas are bound to come up. To minimize these
issues, several steps will be taken. First, I will ensure that I get consent from the individuals for

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them to participate in the research. Secondly, I would make the person being interviewed to sign
a release form, stating that they have the right to stop the interview at any time, to withdraw their
answers from the study at any time and to remain anonymous if they wish to do so. When
handing out questionnaires, I will keep them 100% anonymous in identity and would not accept
any form of name or ID number that may be written on the questionnaire.

Literature Review
What is a healthy amount of sleep?
Sleep is critical for maintaining a healthy life. Adults typically need 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day
(Morgenthaler, 2014). Even though most health organizations recommend 7 to 8 hours of sleep
for the average adult, there is no standardized number. The amount of sleep that a person
needs varies per individual. The quality of sleep that one receives depends on two factors, basal
sleep and sleep debt. Basal sleep is the amount of sleep a body needs on a regular basis for
optimum sleep (National Sleep Foundation, 2014). Sleep debt is the accumulated sleep that is
lost to poor sleep behaviors, illness, environmental factors, or other causes (National Sleep
Foundation, 2014). Sleep debt results in lowered sleep quality. It should be mentioned that
sleep quality is just as important as sleep quantity, but the two work concurrently (Morgenthaler,
2014).
Although some people may feel rested with a few hours of sleep per night, studies show that
reduced hours of sleep is associated with low performance on complex mental tasks
(Morgenthaler, 2014). For college students performance on complex tasks is important due to
the critical thinking atmosphere encouraged by the academic environment (Morgenthaler,
2014). Sleep deprived adults are not only affecting their capacity for critical thinking, those who
do not meet sleep requirements also have a higher risk of mortality (Morgenthaler, 2014). Even
though it is generalized knowledge that sleep is essential to optimal performance, healthy
sleeping habits are not always promoted in certain settings. In college, students generally live in
a culture that promotes poor sleep hygiene. This paper will identify the sleep habits of college
students and the factors associated with sleep deprivation.

What is sleep deprivation?

Sleep deprivation in adults refers to sleep that is shorter than the average basal need of 7 to 8
hours per night (Colten, Altevogt, & Institute of Medicine, 2006). One of the main symptoms of
sleep deprivation is excessive daytime sleepiness in addition to poor memory, poor
concentration, and depressed mood (Colten et al., 2006). Although sleep loss has detrimental
effects on the body, chronic sleep loss is not considered a formal syndrome or disorder (Colten
et al., 2006). Sleep deprivation increases as adults grow older, and studies show that at least
18% of adults in the US report getting insufficient sleep (Colten et al., 2006). The consequence
of sleep loss affects more than the individual, it also has societal implications, which will be
discussed later in this paper.

Why are university students sleep deprived?

Poor sleep hygiene is a common factor that increases sleep loss. Sleep hygiene is
the promotion of regular sleep (CDC, 2012). Without adequate sleep hygiene, students may

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find themselves with worse health consequences that encourage sleep deprivation. A
study implemented with college students showed that 33% of sleep deprived students took
longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, and 43% of the students studied also reported
prematurely waking up more than once on a nightly basis (Forquer et al, 2008). Some people
may have the belief that college students have different sleep hygiene depending on their class
standing and majors. Although it may be true that some majors have different amount of work
load, Forquer et al. (2008) found that there is no differences between freshman, sophomores,
juniors, seniors, and graduate students for the time to fall asleep, number of premature waking
per night, and total hours of sleep per night.
Poor sleep hygiene is a common cause of sleep deprivation among college students; however,
other causes such as alcohol consumption also affect students. According to Hershner&
Chervin (2014), approximately four out of five college students drink alcohol. Alcohol is known to
shorten sleep latency; however, it promotes fragmented sleep in the latter half of the night
(Hershner& Chervin, 2014). A study conducted about sleep and alcohol consumption found that
11.6% of students who drank alcohol used it as a sleep aid (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). The use
of alcohol for sleep is a dangerous practice that has negative health consequences. In fact,
alcohol may increase the risk for obstructive sleep apnea (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). In
addition to alcohol consumption, college students are also sleep deprived due to other drugs
such as caffeine and energy drinks. Caffeine consumption is commonly used in the college
lifestyle as a remedy for preserving alertness and most importantly, preventing sleep in times
when there is an urgency for studying. Students depend on caffeine products such as coffee
and energy drinks for their source of caffeine. The body’s response to highly caffeinated drinks
is detrimental to sleep hygiene; for example, intake of 2 to 4 cups of coffee taken at night can
increase sleep latency on average from 6.3 to 12.1 minutes, reduce sleepiness, and improve
the ability to sustain wakefulness (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). Students who plan to study for
long periods of time seek caffeinated drinks because they are readily available products.
Students gravitate to the effectiveness of caffeine consumption, because the effects of caffeine
can last 5.5–7.5 hours (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). This suggests that caffeine consumed in the
afternoon could impair one’s ability to fall asleep (Hershner& Chervin, 2014).
Today technology use is ubiquitous and the effect it is having on health is widely disputed. The
presence of technology prior to bed is a recent phenomenon that is causing insufficient sleep.
The 2011 Sleep in America Poll shows that adults 19 to 29 years old are heavy users of
technology before bed, in fact, 67% use cell phones, 43% use music players, and 18% use
video games (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). The result of using technology before bed is
poor quality sleep, and 51% of people who use technology before bed report waking up
unrefreshed (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). Frequent exposure to light is one of the contributing
factors that explain why students and young adults are affected by technology use before bed.
Light exposure through technology sources such as computers, tablets, and cellphones impact
sleep by suppressing melatonin secretion (Hershner& Chervin, 2014). Melatonin is secreted by
the pineal gland and helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm (the body’s natural sleep cycle
clock). One can conclude that students using stimulating technology prior to bedtime are only
harming their health and subsequently affecting their ability to perform well in academics in
addition other activities.

Health consequences of sleep deprivation: stress

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Stress is a major side effect of sleep deprivation. The Pilcher and Walters (1997) study indicates
that stress indicators, fatigue and confusion are caused by sleep deprivation. The study
correlates the symptoms of fatigue and confusion to decreased performance in students (Pilcher
& Walters, 1997). Similar studies have been done to assess stress as a consequence of sleep
deprivation. A study conducted at James Madison University worked with 124 college students,
and results from the research revealed that over 50 percent of the students reported high levels
of stress that was related to academic workload and time management, which was linked to
unhealthy behaviors such as decreased quantity of sleep (Britz & Pappas, 2014). A little more
than half (57 percent) of students in the study reported sleeping 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night
(Britz & Pappas, 2014). According to the study, the students who obtained less than the
recommended amount of sleep per night (7 hours) reported higher levels of stress. The Britz
and Pappas (2014) study also found that stress is connected to reduced general relaxing time.
Out of the 124 participants about a in every 6 students obtained fewer than 30 minutes of
relaxing or personal time each day (Britz & Pappas, 2014). If students took more time to build
leisure time into their schedules, levels of stress would decrease. However, time management is
a challenge for students that are sleep deprived; therefore, these individuals are more prone to
stress.

Methodology
I will obtain a convenient sample of 50 students [25 male and 25 female students] from
Microbiology department at UVAS. For this research, the most suitable approach to gaining data
would be using a qualitative method in the form of interviews. This form of gathering data would
prove to be effective in finding what students perceive a good night’s sleep is and a better
insight as to how much students understand what sleep deprivation is. Along with this method I
would also use a quantitative method such as a questionnaire to find the average hours of sleep
and how tired students generally are but on a larger scale than the interviews. There should be
a good mix of students living on campus and at home, male and female, and of different ages.

References

 Pilcher, J. and Walters, A. (1997). How Sleep Deprivation Affects Psychological Variables
Related to College Students’ Cognitive Performance. Journal of American College Health,
46(3), pp.121-126.
 Taras, H. and Potts-Datema, W. (2005). Sleep and Student Performance at School. Journal
of School Health, 75(7), pp.248-254.
 CURCIO, G., FERRARA, M. and DEGENNARO, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity
and academic performance. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10(5), pp.323-337.
 M. T. Anim and F. Yirdong, “Effects of sleep deprivation on students' learning: a study of
medical students in University of Cape Coast,” Journal of Counselling, Education, and
Psychology, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 122–138, 2013.
 G. Curcio, M. Ferrara, and L. De Gennaro, “Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic
performance,” Sleep Medicine Reviews, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 323–337, 2006.