University of Belgrade

Faculty of Philology
Language, literature, culture

An essay for the Academic Writing Technique course

The Influence of Sleep Habits on Students Way

of Life

Mentor: Aleksandra Vrane, PhD

Student: Milica uri

Booklet number: 2011/845m
Belgrade, 2016

Abstract
High-tech age has brought a hectic pace of life. We do everything quickly and instantly
drink instant coffees, send instant messages, want instant replies, crave instant success; take
quick dips, have a quick word, have quick naps. We do not even sleep properly. Today, sleeping
is overrated. Nobody needs it. It is a complete waste of time. The main focus of this paper is the
investigation of the students sleep habits and the impact they may have on their everyday life,
mainly concentrating on their academic achievement, alertness during the classes and caffeine
consumption. The paper also explores whether they are aware of the consequences they may
suffer due to sleep deprivation. The sole method used for conducting this research was a
questionnaire, which consisted of 13 questions and was filled in by 48 subjects. The results
confirm the initial hypothesis quality sleep lies at the end of our list of priorities. This
phenomenon was explored by many psychologists, physicians, teachers, and this particular piece
of writing can be of interest to all those engaged in psychology, biology or just following the
ongoing trends and byproducts of the modern society.
Key words: sleep, students, consequences, caffeine

Saetak
Doba razvijene tehnologije dovelo je do ubrzanog naina ivota. Sve obavljamo brzo i
uurbano brzo pijemo kafu, brzo priamo, aljemo kratke poruke i oekujemo brz odgovor,
udimo za brzim uspehom. Nemamo dovoljno vremena ak ni da spavamo dovoljno. U dananje
vreme san je precenjen i za mnoge gubljenje dragocenog vremena. Osnovna tema ovog rada jesu
navike studenata u Srbiji vezanih za spavanje i koliko one utiu na njihov svakodnevni ivot,
prvenstveno na uspeh na fakultetu, panju tokom predavanja i unoenje kofeina. Ovaj rad takoe
istrauje njihovu svest o moguim posledicama nedostatka sna. Metod koji je korien u ovom
istraivanju jeste upitnik sainjen od 13 pitanja popunjen od stane 48 ispitanika. Rezultati
potvruju poetnu hipotezu kvalitetan san se nalazi na dnu liste prioriteta studenata iz Srbije.
Mnogi psiholozi su istraivali ovu pojavu i ovaj rad moe pruiti korisne informacije svima koji
se interesuju za psihilogiju ili jednostavno prate razvoj drutva i posledice modernog naina
ivota.
Kljune rei: spavanje, studenti, posledice, kofein

Table of Contents
Introduction ........ 4
Methodology .. 5
Research Findings and Interpreting the Data . 5
Conclusion ... 10
Appendix .. 11
References 13

Introduction
Nowadays, we can see more and more students walking like zombies down the faculty
corridors. They are pale, bleary-eyed, with dark circles beneath their eyes, slightly bent forward
because they are too tired to carry even their own body. Whatever the reasons for their chronic
state of exhaustion may be, their mind, body, health as well as their academic performance must
be suffering. Many times I have felt and looked exactly the same and that prompted me to
undertake research and find out what the students sleep habits are and how they affect their life.
Many studies concerning this issue have been conducted, and Alice Park wrote about one
in her article Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades1 for magazine Time. This study
was conducted by psychologist Jennifer Peszka among the incoming Hendrix College freshmen.
They were asked to say whether they considered themselves owls (meaning they stay up late),
larks (early sleepers) or robins (those who are neither late nor early sleepers). It turned out
that owls had a lower GPA at the end of their freshman year than larks and robins (Park,
2009).
Dr. Robert Stickgold carried out a study entitled Sleep and Memory in 2008. He says
there are three distinct brain processes involved when the brain is trying to learn: acquisition,
consolidation and recall, concluding that a poor sleep habits negatively impact all of these. If
you dont sleep well and are dozing off in class, that is obviously going to affect the acquisition
of the material being presented to you, writes Alex Ondracek (2012) in his article Bad Sleeping
Habits Affect Grades, Ability to Absorb Information in Class2.
Carrying a heavy burden of their busy schedule, trying to find a balance between
studying and social life, students often make up for the lack of sleep by consuming drinks that
contain high amount of caffeine (e. g. coffee, energy drinks, soda, coke). Temporarily, they might
be satisfied because they managed to keep themselves awake, but are they aware of long-term
consequences? This is also one of the issues the following research will deal with.

1 Park, Alice. Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades. 2009.
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1903838,00.html (30.12.2015.)

2Ondracek, Alex. Bad Sleeping Habits Affect Grades, Ability to Absorb Information in Class. 2012.
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2012/09/06/bad-sleeping-habits-affect-grades-ability-to-absorb-information-in-class/
(30.12.2015.)

Methodology
Research involved the distribution of 50 questionnaires, 48 of which were returned
(96%). The respondents were the students from different faculties. Relevant pieces of
information regarding the respondents were the year of study and their GPA (grade point
average) because the survey investigated the influence of sleep patterns on their academic
achievement. The questionnaire consisted of 13 questions. Nine of them asked the respondents to
fill in an objective answer or to choose the answer that best applied to them, whereas the rest
were open-ended and required their greater involvement and some thinking process. These
questions were put toward the end of the questionnaire.

Research Findings and Interpreting the Data

Having read all the answers, the general impression is that students are not satisfied with
their sleep habits, lacking a few hours of sleep every day. They are aware of the fact it can
negatively influence their health, but usually can do nothing to change it due to a very cramped
schedule or poor time management. Many of the respondents were high achievers with
impressive GPA who need to drink coffee or energy drinks in order to force themselves to stay
up late so as to fulfill all their obligations.
Out of 48 respondents, 7 of them (14.5%) were male and 41 (85.5%) female. When it
comes to the year of study, 5 of them (10.4%) were freshmen, 9 (18.7%) were second year and
31 (64.6%) third year students; out of total number, 3 (6.3%) were postgraduates. The study
wanted to explore if there is a relationship between the year of study and sleep habits (e. g.
whether freshmen sleep more/less than postgraduates, who stays awake after midnight more
often etc.). The table below (Table 1) shows that only 5 out of 48 students, which is
approximately 10%, have regular sleep patterns, which means that they go to bed and wake up at
the same time every day. It can also be seen that only 1 freshman said he/she does not stay awake
after midnight, whereas 47 of them (98%) do stay awake, 25 of which regularly stay awake after
midnight 5 7 days per week, which is a devastating fact. This means they are very much used
to it and almost never go to bed before 00.00, which may have detrimental effect on their health.

Number

Year of
Study

Total

Table 1. Questionnaire results

Regular
patterns

Awake after midnight (days per week)

Yes

No

None

1-3

3-5

5-7

Only at
Weekends

First

Second

Third

31

28

17

Postgraduat
e

When asked how many hours of sleep per night are enough for them to be fresh and
rested, 85.4% (which is 41 respondents) answered between 6 and 9, only 1 said less than 6 hours
was enough, whereas 6 students thought the optimal number was 10 and more hours per night.
In one question the respondents were asked to say at what time they usually go to bed,
wake up and have breakfast. The results for go to bed were classified into three major groups:
I group around midnight
II group between 00.00 and 02.00
III group after 03.00,
and the percentages are shown in the following pie chart:

Go to bed
8% 15%

Around 00.00
00.00 - 02.00
After 03.00

77%

Illustration 1. Going to bed

The questionnaire also tested the way students sleep habits affect their concentration. This was
an open-ended question, and the students from the first group usually said they know that the
lack of sleep causes lack of concentration and makes them unable to follow the lectures, so they
go to bed earlier in order to avoid that. The research also revealed that none of the students who
belong to this group consumes energy drinks and only 3 of them drink coffee on a daily basis.
The surprising fact was that 11 students from the second group wrote that the lack of sleep does
not affect their concentration because they are used to it. The rest of them admitted they feel
sleepy and have troubles with morning lectures since they find it extremely hard to wake up in
the morning, most of them have very short attention span and problems with memorizing; some
of them said they are so tired that they are unable to utter coherent sentences and do not
participate in class. The respondents from the third group almost never attend all classes that are
scheduled for one day because they have difficulties to keep themselves fully awake. They either
skip afternoon classes because they are too exhausted to spend the whole day at the faculty, or do
not attend morning classes because they cannot wake up. Some of them even fall asleep during
lectures and have a quick nap. Their physical exhaustion is proportional to their caffeine
consumption, since the survey found all of them drink coffee on a daily basis and energy drinks
occasionally. Regarding the time when they wake up, there are no such fluctuations; they all
usually wake up around 08.30 and have breakfast 3 hours after they get up.
The study investigated whether students prefer studying at night or during the day. The
percentages can be seen on the pie chart below:

Time of studying
Day

13%
36%

52%

Night
It's all the same

Illustration 2. Time of studying

The most frequent reasons for studying at night were the following: other people sleep so nobody
can disturb them, their concentration is better, they are either lazy during the day or do not have
enough time due to busy schedule. Those who study during the day said they are fresh in the
morning and more concentrated.
The results showed there is negative influence of caffeine on students academic
achievement. First of all,
they drink coffee on a daily
them) do not. Most of them
school or when they enrolled
energy drinks, 14.5% (7 of
54% (26 students) do not
(15 respondents) drink it

Energy
drinks

54% (26 respondents) said

GPA

Yes

7.9

No

8.85

Occasionally

8.4

basis, while 46% (22 of

started drinking it in high
at faculty. Then, concerning
them) do drink it regularly,
drink it at all, whereas 31.5%
occasionally. Those who

consume energy drinks have lower GPA than those who do not, and the results can be seen in the
table below (Table 2).
Table 2. Energy drinks

Finally, the last question was the most difficult one it required the students to list as many
negative effects as they could remember caffeine might have on their health. There were no answers
offered, and they had to come up with their own answers. None of them could list more than three
negative effects, 19 of them (39.5%) said there are no negative effects, and one said they might exist but
he/she couldnt tell for sure. The most frequent ones were as follows: it can quicken your heartbeat,
increase your blood pressure, make you addicted so that you feel cranky and have headaches every day
you miss to drink it, causes bad breath and yellow teeth. My impression was that students are not aware
that caffeine is probably the most widely used drug and take these (and many more they do not even
know about) negative effects for granted. It is true that small doses result in increased alertness and
wakefulness and better general body coordination, but it also results is restlessness, a loss of fine motor
8

control and dizziness. When consuming greater quantities, insomnia, agitation, tremors and rapid
breathing began to appear. Caffeine also fits the definition of an addictive substance with withdrawal
symptoms, and increase in tolerance over time and physical cravings.

At the end of the data analysis, I would like to mention that I was fairly surprised by
students willingness to fill out the questionnaire and cooperate. All the questionnaires were
distributed and returned within two days. Some of them had difficulties with language since the
questionnaire was written in English and needed my assistance; some of them understood all the
questions but were not skilful at writing in English, so they wrote in Serbian, which was not
much of a problem for me and did not have an impact on general statistics. However, I
encountered some impediments. There were several incomplete questionnaires, several questions
left with no answers. The most difficult one was the last one, and afterwards I realized I should
have formulated it differently because it was slightly vague. Instead of List as many negative
effects as you can remember caffeine has on your health, the question should sound like List as
many negative effects as you can remember caffeine may have on peoples health because some
of those who do not drink coffee, energy drinks or any other drink that contains caffeine thought
they were not supposed to answer that question because there were no negative effects on their
health.

Conclusion
The proverb goes the mill cannot grind with the water that is past. That is, we need to
protect and cherish our health while we are still young and strong because there is no way back
when we fall ill. It is in human nature to go to see a doctor only when something hurts; we go to
the dentists only when we have a toothache. We start thinking about our health only when we
lose it. This survey found that students underestimate the consequences of constant sleep
deprivation and caffeine consumption. The life teaches us that it is necessary to set our priorities
and find a balance. A good balance requires discipline; for example, knowing when to say that it
is time for bed despite how good of a conversation you are having with your buddies. If you
want good grades than you have to be willing to make sacrifices, even if it means going to bed
just a little bit earlier.3

3 Ondracek, Alex. Bad Sleeping Habits Affect Grades, Ability to Absorb Information in Class. 2012.
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2012/09/06/bad-sleeping-habits-affect-grades-ability-to-absorbinformation-in-class/ (30.12.2015.)

10

Appendix
The aim of this survey is to investigate the influence of sleep habits on your way of life.
The questionnaire is anonymous and the data obtained will be used for scientific purposes only. I
would highly appreciate if you fill in the questionnaire; it should not take you more than 15
minutes.
1. Gender: Male
Female
2. Year of study: a) First
b) Second
c) Third
d) Fourth
e) Postgraduate studies
3. Your GPA (grade point average): ________
4. At what time do you usually:
a) Go to bed ___________
b) Wake up ____________
c) Have breakfast _______
5. Do you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day? Yes

No

6. How many days per week do you approximately stay awake after midnight?
a) None
b) 1-3
c) 3-5
d) 5-7
e) Only at weekends
7. Do your sleep habits affect your concentration during your lectures and in what way?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8. Is it easier for you to study at night or during the day and why? ________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
9. How many hours of sleep per night do you think are enough for you to be fresh and rested?
________
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10. In your opinion, how important is the quantity and quality of sleep?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
11. Do you drink coffee on a daily basis? If yes, when did you start drinking coffee?
______________________________________________________________________________
12. Do you drink coffee or energy drinks in order to stay up late?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Occasionally
d) ___________
13. List as many negative effects as you can remember caffeine has on your health.

Thank you for your time!

References
12

Ondracek, Alex. Bad Sleeping Habits Affect Grades, Ability to Absorb Information in
Class. 2012. http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2012/09/06/bad-sleeping-habits-affect-

grades-ability-to-absorb-information-in-class/ (30.12.2015.)
Park, Alice. Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades. 2009.
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1903838,00.html (30.12.2015.)

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