Early morning university classes correlate with poor sleep and academic performance

Date:
March 28, 2023
Source:
Duke-NUS Medical School
Summary:
Sleep scientists' analyses show associations between early classes,
less sleep, poor attendance and reduced grade point average. Studies
in secondary and junior college students have shown that later
start times can have positive impacts on grades.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== SINGAPORE, 27 March 2023 - Digital data from university students in
Singapore suggest they could be getting better grades if their classes
started later. The findings, from tens of thousands of students, were
published by Duke-NUS Medical School researchers and colleagues in the
journal Nature Human Behaviour.


========================================================================== Research in recent years has shown that postponing the start time of high schools improves the amount of sleep that students get and reduces their sleepiness during school hours. But findings are mixed about whether
this has a positive impact on grades.

To determine the impact specifically on university students, Associate Professor Joshua Gooley, from Duke-NUS' Neuroscience & Behavioural
Disorders Programme and colleagues used student Wi-Fi connection data,
log-ins to university digital learning platforms, and activity data
from special sensing watches to conduct large-scale monitoring of
class attendance and sleep behaviour of tens of thousands of university students.

"We implemented new methods that allow large-scale monitoring of class attendance and sleep behaviour by analysing students' classroom Wi-Fi connection data and their interactions with digital learning platforms,"
said Dr Yeo Sing Chen, first author of the study and a Duke-NUS PhD
graduate.

From the data, the researchers found that early class start times were associated with lower attendance, with many students regularly sleeping
past the start of such classes. When students did attend an early class,
they lost about an hour of sleep. Morning classes on more days of the
week were also associated with a lower grade point average.

"If the goal of formal education is to position our students to succeed in
the classroom and workforce, why are we forcing many university students
into the bad decision of either skipping morning class to sleep more
or attending class while sleep-deprived?" asked Assoc Prof Gooley. "The take-home message from our study is that universities should reconsider mandatory early morning classes." The researchers drew insights using
the Wi-Fi connection logs of 23,391 students to find out if early morning classes were associated with lower attendance. They then compared the
data with six weeks of watch-derived activity data from a subset of 181 students to determine if the students were sleeping instead of attending
early morning classes.

They also analysed activity data with the day and night patterns of
digital learning platform logins of 39,458 students to determine if
early morning classes were associated with waking up earlier and getting
less sleep. Finally, they studied the grades of 33,818 students and the
number of morning classes these students were taking to determine if it impacted their grade point average.

The team is now investigating differences between class attendance,
sleep, wellbeing and academic performance between early birds and night
owls. "We expect to find that evening-type students will be at a learning disadvantage in early morning classes and have lower class attendance,
shorter sleep, poorer mental health and lower grades compared with their peers," said Assoc Prof Gooley.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Mind_&_Brain
# Sleep_Disorders # Educational_Psychology # Insomnia #
Numeracy # Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea # K-12_Education #
Learning_Disorders # Autism
* RELATED_TERMS
o Circadian_rhythm_sleep_disorder o
Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome o Sleep_deprivation o
Sleep_disorder o Narcolepsy_(sleep_disorder) o Night_terror
o Rapid_eye_movement o Sleep

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Duke-NUS_Medical_School. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230328145459.htm

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