Impact of sleep patterns on academic performance Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Impact of Sleep Pattern on Academic Performance
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Impact of Sleep Pattern on Academic Performance
Introduction
Sleep forms an integral component of the human development process. It accords the body time for biological maintenance through rest and regenerating body cells as well as recouping the necessary energy for the daily activities (Kazim & Abrar, 2011). As such, it becomes necessary for life itself. Sleeping constitutes a significant component of the circadian rhythms, with the level of reported or observed productivity in an individual being an aggregate of the efficiency of this process. The circadian rhythm is viewed as a biological clock, whereby the human body adapts to a repeated schedule. It guides the activities undertaken during the day and night by regulating the release of hormones in the body. As such, the efficiency of the circadian rhythm plays a fundamental role in enabling a person remain productive in their lives, or deters activity by inducing sleepiness. For a student, a significant proportion of their time is utilized in the academic arena. With attention to the excessive pressures to produce excellent results, a significantly large workload in terms of assignments and an equally demanding education and assessment system, most students resort to cutting down on their sleeping hours to meet the challenges (Kazim & Abrar, 2011). It is undeniable that the practice is noble and well-intended. Only, by cutting down on their sleep, the students enter a sleep-deprived state characterized by poor concentration, irritability, and constant fatigue that affects their cognitive functions and, consequently, their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The process results in an irregular circadian rhythm where the sleep hormone, melatonin, could be released during the day when the student is meant to be active, and very late at night, that they do not get a quality sleep. The quality of sleep of sleep received by a student will also significantly decline, as the sleep cycles, regular patterns of sleep, become ineffective in repairing worn out brain tissues. With sleep deprivation, the brain cell rejuvenation process is adversely affected, simultaneously affecting the memory encoding process in the brain. Also, the information retrieval process is affected, recall, is affected (Hamed, Miskey, Alkurd, Ghazal, Sami, Abduljaleel & Shahwan, 2015). It follows that the capacity of the sleep-deprived student to succeed academically is significantly lowered. Following the detrimental impacts of sleep deprivation on a student's development, this paper posits that adequate sleep is integral for sustained excellent academic performance. We begin by conducting a metanalysis of the previous research conducted on sleep and academic processes to determine the cause-effect relationships. Secondly, we describe the dynamics of sleep and the circadian rhythm to adequately portray its importance in memory formulation and general body development. From that, we will portray the impacts of sleep deprivation on academic performance. We also describe sleep patterns, linking them to academic performance and productivity. Finally, we describe the common sleep disorders prevalent among students, possible causes, and the proposed remedies towards improving the quality of an individual's academic life.