Debbieann Sealey and Paul Andrew Bourne M.Sc. (pending), B.Sc. (Hons.), Dip. Edu.
Introduction
Since the time of Aristotle and the period of the enlightenment, researchers have used slumber to explain aspects of human behaviour. Chief among them is the issue of performance. The primary significance of this concept is to demonstrate the differences in academic performance of people through the vantage point of their sleeping habits. According to Dutch physician Herman Boerhavve, "sleep occurs because the fluid or ‘liquor’, in the brain cannot move freely as it is gradually used up; it can no longer fill the small vessels and nerves that run from the brain to the sensory organs and voluntary muscles." (Borbely, 1986:11). The contention is how will this phenomenon be used to explain variances in people’s academic performance?
Whenever we set off to bed at nights and-or otherwise, we enter an altered state of consciousness that lasts for hour(s). Sleep is taken for granted by many people; few of us ever stop for a few moments within a day to reflect on the meaning and origin of this phenomenon. For students, sleep is always disturbed and-or delayed in order to complete particular task(s), or in preparation for certain milestone events. Thus, this phenomenon becomes a subject of conscious thought and sometimes a "problem" for many. As such, this paper provides a scientific and analytical perspective of the issue of slumber through a theoretical vantage point of other research in this field, while offering academic justifiable evidence of this conceptualization on students’ performance.
The English word ‘sleep’ is of Germanic origin and derives from the Gothic word ‘sleps’. (Borbely, 1986:4) It is a fundamental biological process whose mechanisms are providing unforeseen insights into man’s behaviour. Sleep is also known as an interruption of waking consciousness and the exercise of intelligence. Everyone sleeps, all living creatures sleep, and according to many scientists, a third of our life is spent in sleep. In order to understand the organisation of one’s memory or learning thus the academic performance of students one needs to fathom the essential phase of the nervous activity in the body. (Luce and Segal, 1967: xiii)
According to Franken (1994), "falling asleep and losing consciousness involves a gradual progress of stages. A fully alert and awake individual is in stage 0. Stage 1 is accompanied by being drowsy and drifting in and out of sleep. Then the individual enters stages 2, followed by 3, and eventually 4. After stage 4, he/she will reverse the sequence by returning to stage 3, followed by 2, then 1 – REM (rapid eye movement). This cycle takes between 90 to 120 minutes, due to individual differences, and then repeats itself. Therefore, in 7 to 8 hours of sleep, this cycle repeats about 5 times. (Allahyar, 1997)
Moorcroft, (1993) viewed sleep as an "adaptive behaviour". It can be a period of "restoration" for a human. It allows for "cognitive processes". By sleeping, people "conserve energy and rest when food is not as available". The body is given an opportunity to repair itself during this time.
When students’ environment is aroused, their sleep is disrupted. These factors such as stress cause their sleeping habits to change among other things. Thus, it may give reason for their performance at school. Sleep deprivation may cause a pupil to fall asleep sooner the next time and remain asleep longer, thus, it must be emphasised that individual differences play an important role in sleep cycles.
Additionally, over the past years, gaining an education has become vital to a person’s growth in society. For instance, students became very competitive in terms of obtaining the limited spaces in schools. They resorted to spending nights studying without sleep or little sleep just to pass an exam. This as a result caused their sleeping patterns to alter and thus gave a motive to this research topic: "The influence of sleeping habits on academic performance on students."
Other research
In recent time, few studies have been conducted from researchers, who sought to explore and explain the relationship between sleeping habits of students and their academic performance. In reference to Oswald (1962), "after lying down in bed, as we become more sleepy, the control of our thoughts escapes us. Our ability to discriminate between fantasy and reality become lost. Our thoughts lack precision. If we are suddenly roused at this time, we may describe hypnagogic hallucinations. Visions, sudden voices, absurd or bizarre sentences or words passing through our minds; often new words or neologisms." (Akert, K., 1964:161). However, in this review, one will be looking at some of the studies, highlighting the advantages, as well as the objectives set out and the short – comings of the research topic.
Berger and Oswald (1962) did a study illustrating a volunteer medical student at Edinburgh. After hours of no sleep, the volunteer began to hallucinate. Thus causing his general performance to deteriorate. A second volunteer who was observed by these scientists also showed that his general performance declined while he was deprived of sleep. However, after a good night sleep, his behaviour changed drastically for the better.
In a study with human subjects, Dinges and Kribbs discovered that performance on short tasks is not impaired when individuals are sleep deprived. On the other hand, performance on longer tasks, which require sustained attention, becomes impaired. In other experiments, subjects report "perceptual distortions" or even hallucinations (Franken, 1994).
Sir Winston Churchill once believed that with a good sleeping habit, for example at least one hour nap, allowed a person to feel refresh and perform better at his given tasks. In the Jamaica Observer, reporter Roger Smith states: "experts state that even though the average person might get about 7 hours sleep, an extra hour is necessary". He also goes on to say that " in a study at the University of Chicago, it was discovered that 11 healthy men, between 17 and 28, aged rapidly when restricted to only four hours of sleep six nights in a row. Hypertension, diabetes, and memory problems rose to levels usually associated with 60 – year – olds". Similarly, President Truman, states that with a short nap he was able to conserve his "unflagging energy". Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt also claimed that regular sleeping habits preserve her strength. Paracelsus, a sixteenth century famous physician, believed that natural sleep eliminated the tiredness caused by working and refreshed the sleeper. Thus, a person needed neither too much nor too little sleep to perform well. (Luce and Segal, 1966:11 – 13)
Studies by McGaugh, Jenson and Martinez suggest that poor retention of information occurs if individuals are sleep deprived prior to learning. (Moocroft, 1993). A poor sleeping habit may also be a cause for the rise of certain diseases. "Dr. Gary Zammit, Director of the Sleep Disorders Institute at St. Luke’s Roosevelt and Beth Israel hospital in New York, stated that lack of sleep leads to many other disorders and illnesses. Among these are vulnerability to infection, hugh blood pressure, weight gain, anxiety and stress". (Roger Smith, 2004) Thus, it is important to get a good night sleep not only for maximum performance but to prevent diseases and disorders arising within the body. According to researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel, they claimed that children who got less sleep at night than other children were significantly more fatigued during the evenings and performed less well at various tests of mental sharpness, which measure reaction time and memory. They studied the sleeping habits of seventy – seven children, asking some children to spend an extra asleep or awake.
Dr. Carlysle Smith, professor of psychology at Trent University in Peterborough, of the United States, suggested that "if you want to learn really well and to be really efficient in your learning, the best way to do it is to get a good night’s sleep." (Jenkins, 2004) Furthermore, Jenkins goes on to say that, "Dr. Smith and colleagues have pioneered research into sleep deprivation and performance in people 18 – 24 years of age. Their studies in young college students 18 to 24 years of age attending Trent University show that when you teach people new tasks and then deprive them of REM sleep, test scores go down. What ‘s more, Dr. Smith suspects this effect, particularly in certain kinds of memory that is sensitive to sleep loss, may be even more dramatic in younger students". Scientists in the US, North-western University in Illinois to be exact claims that, teenagers who fail "to have long lie – ins could lead to behavioural problems and poor academic results".
Additionally, Rechtschaffen, a scientific researcher, study, highlighted the severe effects on rats that were sleep deprived between five to thirty three days. During the study, the rats began to look sick and stopped grooming themselves. Rechtschaffen’s found signs of stress within the rats, he also claimed that they became weak and uncoordinated (Carlson, 1991). Therefore, students who get little sleep perform worst than others when compared to students who get enough sleep. However, rats are not human beings. They both can behave differently under the same conditions.
Oppositely, in relation to Rechtschaffen’s study each human is different and thus acts differently in a given situation. Rats are not human beings, thus they can make a research incorrect when used, that is, invalid and unreliable. Similarly, Thomas Alva Edison believed that for a productive life, a person do not necessarily need as much sleep as some researchers wants us to believe.
At Edinburgh, medical students were observed and it was noted that a person could deal with little sleep once it has become a routine/ habit for him or her. Two of these volunteer students were allowed to go to bed only every other night, but. Gradually they got accustomed to the new mode of life, until, after a month they were thriving satisfaction on less sleep than they originally obtained before the study. Thus showing that if a student became accustomed to little sleep he or she will eventually become immune to the effects of sleep deprivation. (Oswald, pg51)
After nights without proper sleep, psychologists studied volunteers who added up a list of sums. Arithmetical performance seemed no worse and no better than before, so evidently showing that the brain could still work as cleverly. Consequently, hinting that sleeping habits do not necessarily have to affect a person’s academic performance. However, it must be noted that the time given to do certain arithmetic problems can make a person seem to perform better that others. Given plenty time for a test, all can be well, but told to do as many as possible in a limited time, the man short of sleep will not tackle as many. (Oswald, pg 53 - 54). Thus, it can be seen that not only sleep determines a person’s academic performance but other factors such as time and so on.
In conclusion, with the evidence provided one can say that sleep is important to a human’s well – being, that being socially or mentally or physically. However, the methodology used by other researchers may be invalid and unreliable, and it illustrates that not much research work on the relationship between academic performance and sleeping habits of students were implemented. It is important to note that there is still need for additional research. Most of the research to be conducted with a Caribbean nature; this is a main objective of the research. Most of the research done was relevant for North American researchers and not he Caribbean social agents. The literature was based on human behaviour generally but not how sleeping habits can affect academic performance. Despite these obstacles, from all the theories developed, it is safe to suggest that poor sleeping habits can affect a student’s academic performance pessimistically. As humans, in order to survive we need to sleep, other wise we will become dysfunctional human beings.
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