The Effect of Sleep Quality on the Academic Performance of the Healthcare Graduate Student

<p>Objective: The study aimed to determine the effect of sleep quality on the academic performance of healthcare graduate students and examine the moderating effect of sleep hygiene on the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance. Methods: The study utilized a quasi-experimental, between-group design of a convenience sample consisting of 182 healthcare graduate students. A survey was delivered by email to the students and completed electronically. The survey included two validated self-reported indices: the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI). An Independent Samples t-Test evaluated the statistical significance between the mean GPA of students who experienced poor sleep quality versus those who experienced good sleep quality. A stepwise regression analysis with interaction evaluated how well sleep hygiene behaviors moderated the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Results: Of the sample, 59.9% were determined to experience poor sleep quality. A Chi-Square analysis indicated a statistical significance between the number of students experiencing poor sleep quality and those who experience good sleep quality. An Independent Samples t-Test indicated significantly lower academic performance for students experiencing poor sleep quality than those experiencing good sleep quality with a small to moderate difference between the groups. A stepwise regression analysis with interaction revealed that sleep quality was not a significant predictor of GPA, sleep hygiene significantly predicted GPA, and the interaction was not significant. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Conclusion: The results prove that healthcare graduate students experience poor sleep quality. It was also proved that sleep quality affects academic performance, albeit this result may be influenced by a confounding variable and non-normality of the data. Upon examination of the moderating effect of sleep hygiene on the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance, we found sleep quality was not a significant predictor of GPA, and we found sleep hygiene to be a significant predictor of GPA. The results did not support the third hypothesis that sleep hygiene moderates the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance; instead, discovered a relationship between sleep hygiene and GPA.</p>