Sleep quality and academic performance among Nigerian undergraduate students

Abstract

Objectives: The study assessed sleep quality among the entire student population of a Nigerian University and its association with academic performance and perceived stress. It also identified factors that may be associated with poor sleep quality and academic performance among the students. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study which employed a multistage sampling method to recruit the study participants. A self-administered instrument including a questionnaire on Sociodemographic characteristics, an item of question assessing the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was administered to assess the socio-demographics, academic performance, sleep quality and level of perceived stress. Results: About one out of every two students had poor sleep quality (49.5%). The academic performance of students with good sleep quality was significantly better than those with poor sleep quality (t= 4.39, p<0.01) while the level of perceived stress level for students with poor sleep quality was also significantly higher than those with good sleep quality (t= 2.80, p<0.01). In the population studied, sleep quality was an independent predictor of their academic performance. Conclusion: This study further emphasizes the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance of undergraduate student.