Phase 1: Background & Rationale
Explore the existing literature on your topic and establish the rationale for your study.
Research Context
Sleep quality is a growing concern among university students, with studies reporting 50-70% of students experiencing poor sleep. Despite extensive research linking sleep to cognitive function, the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance remains inconsistent in the literature, partly due to methodological limitations including small samples and failure to control for key confounders such as caffeine intake and physical activity.
Key Literature Findings
Curcio et al. (2006)
Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive performance and academic achievement in adolescents and young adults.
Lund et al. (2010)
Over 60% of university students classified as poor sleepers on the PSQI, with significant associations with stress and anxiety.
Okano et al. (2019)
Sleep quality, not just duration, predicted academic performance in a semester-long study of MIT students.
Alotaibi et al. (2020)
Systematic review found moderate evidence for sleep-GPA association but called for larger, controlled studies.
Research Gap
Few studies have examined the sleep-performance relationship while simultaneously controlling for caffeine intake, physical activity, and year of study. Additionally, most existing studies use small, convenience samples from single departments rather than university-wide recruitment.