Andreoli CPP, Martino MMF
45
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Academic performance of night-shift students
and its relationship with the sleep-wake cycle
Desempenho acadêmico dos alunos do turno noturno e suas relações com o
ciclo vigília-sono
Carla Parada Pazinatto Andreoli1, Milva Maria Figueiredo De Martino2
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The assessment of student achievement in the teaching-learning is a constant concern of the study professors. Actually the night shift is a reality in favor of the persons seeking
qualification for a position in the labor market. This study aimed
to evaluate the academic performance and correlate with the indices of student achievement and sleep patterns. Methods: Participants were college students from the University Center Herminio
Ometto, UNIARARAS, SP, (n = 139) with a mean age of 23.59
years. Were used: a questionnaire to gather personal information
and professional evaluation of sleep-wake cycle (sleep diaries), validated by Benedito-Silva et al. (1990). For the analysis of academic
performance, we used the Scheduled System Assessment (SPA).
Results: The sleep patterns were statistically different between
groups (Mann-Whitney) for the variables bedtime (p < 0.001), bedtime (p <0.001), time to wake up (p <0.001) and duration nap
(p = 0.009). As for academic performance, students in the daytime
period had higher mean values when compared with the group the
night. Conclusion: The group of diurnal periods showed better
academic performance in comparison with that of the night. The
later the hour of waking, the lower academic performance, suggesting the effect of nighttime sleep and deficits. The sleep quality was
better for the group of the day.
Keywords: educational measurement, sleep, students.
RESUMO
Objetivos: A avaliação do rendimento do aluno no processo ensino-aprendizagem é uma preocupação constante dos professores.
Atualmente, estudar no turno noturno é uma realidade favorável
às pessoas que buscam qualificação profissional para ocupar uma
posição no mercado de trabalho. Este estudo buscou analisar o desempenho acadêmico e correlacionar com os índices de aproveitamento dos alunos e os padrões do sono. Métodos: Participaram estudantes universitários do Centro Universitário Herminio Ometto,
Uniararas, SP, (n = 139), com média de idade de 23,59 anos. Foram
utilizados: questionário para coleta de informações pessoais e profissionais e Avaliação do Ciclo vigilia-sono (Diários do sono) validado por Benedito-Silva et al. (1990). Para a análise de desempenho
acadêmico, foi utilizado o Sistema Programado de Avaliação (SPA).
Resultados: Os padrões de sono foram estatisticamente diferentes
entre as turmas (teste de Mann-Whitney) para as variáveis hora de
deitar (p < 0.001), hora de dormir (p < 0.001), hora de acordar
(p < 0.001) e duração de cochilo (p = 0.009).Quanto ao desempenho acadêmico, os estudantes do período diurno obtiveram valores
médios maiores quando se comparou com o grupo do noturno.
Conclusão: O grupo de período diurno demonstrou melhor desempenho acadêmico em comparação com o do noturno. Quanto
mais tarde a hora de acordar, menor foi o desempenho acadêmico,
o que sugere o efeito do horário noturno e dos déficits de sono. A
qualidade de sono foi melhor para o grupo do diurno.
Descritores: avaliação educacional, estudantes, sono.
INTRODUCTION
The assessment of student achievement in the
teaching-learning process is a constant concern for teachers. Part of teaching is checking and judging student
performance to assess learning outcomes, which reflect
teachers’ efficacy and professional ability(1).
Traditionally, the word “assessment” means judgment, classification and exclusion, especially in an educational context, and it invariably evokes stressful situations,
often filled with prejudices and injustices(2).
Through daily observation and interaction with undergraduate students, it is evident that they exhibit different characteristics depending on their year of study. On
the one hand, there is a population that participates and
interacts with the subject matter; on the other hand, there
are people with much less desire to participate in school
activities. Some students sleep in class or to leave before
the end of the lesson and these behaviors are more common among students of the night, since most of them
work at day and studying in the night.
Increasing access to higher education worldwide
has been an important goal since the second half of the
twentieth century. Working students who are already engaged in the job market demand higher education as a
means of socioeconomic improvement(3).
Another factor related to students’ academic performance is the impact of their class schedule on their
sleep-wake cycle and other biological rhythms.
Signs of sleep-wake cycle irregularities or partial sleep
deprivation include decreased alertness and concentration
while performing school activities at night. Disturbance of
the sleep-wake cycle can cause behavioral and mood changes, such as increased irritability and anxiety, daytime sleepiness and increased duration of sleep on weekends(4,5).
Study performed at Centro Universitário Hermínio Ometto - Uniararas.
1
Centro Universitário Hermínio Ometto – UNIARARAS – Araras (SP), Brazil.
2
Departamento de Enfermagem - Faculdade de Ciências Médicas – UNICAMP – Campinas (SP), Brazil.
Corresponding author: Carla Parada Pazinatto Andreoli. Av. Dv. Maximiliano Baruto, 500. Araras - SP. CEP: 13607-339. E-mail: [email protected]
Received: 29/10/2010. Accepted: 12/10/2011.
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Academic performance of night-shift students and its relationship with the sleep-wake cycle
The aim of this study is to correlate indices of student performance with aspects of the sleep
pattern to test whether these factors affect academic
performance.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Students enrolled in the first and second years of
the Aesthetics Technology course at the Hermínio Ometto University Center (n = 139), with a mean age of 23.59
years, attending morning (n = 53) and night classes (n =
86), were invited to participate in the present study.
The study met the ethical guidelines of the Committee on Ethics and Scientific Merit of the Hermínio
Ometto University Center – UNIARARAS. The study was
approved and registered at the Committee on Ethics and
Research (CEP) under protocol nº. 582/2007. All participants were asked to sign a free and informed consent form.
The following tools were used for data collection: a
questionnaire for collecting personal and professional data
and a questionnaire for the assessment of the sleep-wake
cycle (sleep diary) from the Multidisciplinary Group on
Development and Biological Rhythms, ICB/USP(6).
The Programmed System of Assessment (PSA)
was used to assess academic performance. The PSA is a
tool developed internally by the academic institution, consisting of six questions on current issues, six questions on
interdisciplinary topics and twenty-eight questions specific
to each course.
Students were selected according to their work and
study shifts (morning or night). Sleep data were logged
in the sleep diary each morning after nighttime sleep
throughout a four-week period.
The subjects were asked to fill out the questionnaires on personal and professional data before beginning
the sleep diary. These data were collected inside the classroom. The students answered the questionnaires and returned them immediately after filling them out.
RESULTS
There was a predominance of females in the sample
(99.28%), and they were 20 to 29 years old (43.88%), were
mostly single (75.54%) and had no children (84.89%). The
majority (62.32%) reported holding a job while attending
school. Approximately half (53.24%) were using some
kind of medication (Table 1).
These students commuted to work in private company transportation because most did not have their own
means of transportation (56.83%) (Table 1).
When comparing morning and night students, statistically significant results were obtained using the MannWhitney U-test for bedtime (p < 0.001), sleep onset time
(p < 0.001), wake-up time (p < 0.001) and duration of naps
(p = 0.009) (Table 2).
When comparing age groups, statistically significant differences were obtained using the Kruskal-Wallis
H-test for number of children (p < 0.001), work experience (p < 0.001), PSA score (p < 0.005) and duration of
sleep (p<0.001) (Table 3).
Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the sample. Araras – SP, 2008
(n=139).
Characteristic
N
Percentage
AGE (YEARS)
< 20
61
43.88
20-29
56
40.29
≥ 30
22
15.83
Female
138
99.28
Male
1
0.72
Single
105
75.54
Married
25
17.99
Gender
Marital Status
Divorced
7
5.04
Other
2
1.44
None
118
84.89
One
11
7.91
Two
7
5.04
Three
3
2.16
Number of Children
Employed
Yes
87
62.59
No
52
37.41
Yes
74
53.24
No
65
46.76
Use of Medications
Own Transportation
Yes
60
43.17
No
79
56.83
As shown in Figure 1, there were significant correlations between academic performance (PSA score) and
age, number of children, work experience and wake-up
time.
Among the morning group, a statistically significant association was found between number of children
and PSA score using Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient.
Participants with fewer children showed greater academic
achievement as measured by the PSA, with an average
score above five (Figure 1a).
Moreover, a statistically significant correlation was
found between work experience and PSA score for the
morning students through Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient. Students with approximately five years of work
experience showed below-average scores after adjustment
for work (Figure 1b).
A statistically significant correlation was observed
between work experience and PSA score in night students using Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient. Students
with more work experience showed better academic performance and above-average grades (Figure 1c). When
relating wake-up time to PSA score, it was evident that
students who woke up earlier had better academic performance (Figure 1d).
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Andreoli CPP, Martino MMF
47
Table 2. Descriptive and comparative analysis of individual characteristics, sleep pattern and PSA score between morning and night classes. Araras
– SP, 2008.
Morning Class
Night Class
Variable
p – Value
n
Mean
s.d.
n
Mean
s.d.
*
Age
53
25.06
10.13
86
22.69
5.69
0.991
Nº. Children
53
0.32
0.75
86
0.20
0.57
0.318
Time
25
7.52
7.25
58
5.35
6.24
0.217
Commuting
52
86.48
57.52
86
116.10
62.91
0.004 *
PSA score
52
5.63
1.20
85
5.56
0.99
0.710
Bedtime
51
23.78
0.88
80
24.59
0.95
< 0.001 *
Sleep onset time
51
24.16
0.93
80
24.92
0.93
< 0.001 *
Latency
51
0.38
0.22
80
0.34
0.20
0.130
Quality of nighttime sleep
51
7.37
1.59
80
7.19
1.13
0.170
Wake-up time
51
7.59
1.33
80
8.46
2.17
< 0.001 *
Sleep duration
51
7.18
0.76
80
7.19
0.88
0.959
Feels awake
51
6.48
1.83
80
6.20
1.40
0.197
0.78
0.009 *
Nap
44
1.69
0.73
62
1.38
p-value refers to the Mann-Whitney U-test for comparing variables between classes (morning vs. night).
Table 3. Comparison between the numerical variables of sleep pattern and PSA scores by age group. Araras - SP, 2008.
Variable / age group
*
< 20
20 - 29
30
p*
n
Mean
s.d.
n
Mean
s.d.
n
Mean
s.d.
Children
61
0.20
1.29
56
0.11
0.37
22
1.18
1.10
<0.001
Time
25
1.62
1.25
41
5.04
4.24
17
14.76
7.85
<0.001
Commuting
60
1.62
1.11
56
1.91
1.03
22
1.67
0.81
0.181
PSA score
60
5.36
1.07
55
5.62
1.04
21
6.18
0.93
<0.005
Bedtime
56
24.27
0.99
53
24.39
0.78
22
23.97
1.41
0.479
Sleep onset time
56
24.60
1.01
53
24.74
0.75
22
24.39
1.42
0.396
Latency
56
0.33
0.20
53
0.35
0.23
22
0.41
0.20
0.286
Quality of nighttime sleep
56
7.61
1.13
53
6.98
1.42
22
7.05
1.40
0.100
Wake-up time
56
7.99
1.21
53
7.81
0.90
22
8.62
4.08
0.154
Duration of sleep
56
7.58
0.81
53
7.03
0.70
22
6.56
0.73
<0.001
Feels awake
56
6.57
1.47
53
6.12
1.62
22
6.11
1.72
0.360
Nap
44
1.65
0.88
46
1.44
0.72
16
1.33
0.58
Significant differences for the Kruskal-Wallis H-test for comparing variables between age groups (Dunn’s post-hoc test; p < 0.05).
Figure 1. Statistically significant results (Spearman’s Correlation) for
the relation of PSA score to number of children, work experience and
wake-up time for morning and night classes.
0.495
DISCUSSION
This study was conducted with students attending
morning or nighttime higher education classes. This population represents the part of the student body that has
opted for courses that address new trends in the job market, which is becoming increasingly selective, demanding
and flexible. Unemployment is an inevitable consequence
of the current lack of worker training and problem-solving skills.
In terms of individual characteristics, there was a
predominance of females in our sample, in line with data
obtained by the National Institute of Studies and Research
(Inep)(7). It has been noted that females are strongly represented in higher education courses in both public and
private institutions.
There was a predominance of single students with
no children because the study population was young. Furthermore, it was noted that the students attending night
classes were younger, indicating that the most participants
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Academic performance of night-shift students and its relationship with the sleep-wake cycle
hold a job in addition to their schoolwork. The young age
range in this study represents a general student profile that
features, above all, a motivation to perform and achieve
certain goals through enthusiastic action, emotion, energy,
joy and pleasure from being able to do what they enjoy in
the best possible way at their present moment in life(8-10).
Students attending night classes went to bed later
than students attending morning classes, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant. This
difference can be explained by the groups’ work hours because students attending night classes arrive home from
school later and therefore go to bed later.
The variable of sleep onset time also showed a statistically significant difference between students attending
night classes and those attending morning classes. This
difference can be characterized by the time when students
arrive home, have dinner and get ready to sleep, which is
later for students attending night classes. It may also take
night students longer to unwind from their exhausting
daily activities of work and studying.
A statistically significant difference in commute
times was observed for the students attending night classes, which may be caused by students who do not hold jobs.
Students attending night classes reported a longer commuting time between their residence and the university
because they lived in a different municipality than the students who attended morning classes and thus had to travel
every day to attend class. Another study has reported a
similar finding(11).
Although the government makes efforts to protect
its citizens, everyday commuting difficulties caused by
traffic and transportation delays, together with inadequate
nutrition and urban violence, result in impairment of students’ physical, psychological and emotional health, which
will certainly influence their academic performance(11).
However, not everything that derives from being a worker
who also attends school is negative; on the contrary, these
students gain significant experience from their contact
with the working world and from experiencing different
forms of socioeconomic insertion(12).
The research analyzed whether the participants
showed indications that they were performing poorly,
such as lack of interest, motivation or commitment, poor
discipline, insufficient study habits, low level of knowledge, difficulties in interpretation and reasoning, or a focus solely on getting a grade. It is clear that it is possible
for students to demonstrate good academic performance
regardless of the quality of their study skills.
CONCLUSION
Based on these data, it was possible to conclude
that students aged ≥ 30 years who have children and more
experience showed better academic performance and
higher mean PSA scores. When comparing students in
morning and night classes, the morning students had the
higher scores. Younger students studied at night, unlike
those from older age groups.
It was concluded that students attending night classes go to sleep later than those attending morning classes,
and they are also late risers. Morning students have a habit
of taking naps, whereas night students are unable to take
naps because of their work schedules. Quality of sleep
was higher for morning students. Later wake-up times
were associated with lower academic performance, which
suggests an effect of night shift work and sleep deficits.
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