General and Specific Traits of Personality and Their Relation to Sleep and Academic Performance

Abstract

Few studies have examined the links between personality variables and sleep and their combined effect on specific real-world outcomes. Participants in this study completed numerous personality, sleep, and performance measures; we examined the associations among these measures. Personality was assessed using the Five-Factor Model. The personality trait of Conscientiousness (especially its facet of Achievement Striving) was a substantial predictor of academic performance. Analyses of the sleep variables revealed three distinct constructs: quantity, quality, and schedule. Sleep quantity showed few interesting correlates. In contrast, sleep quality was associated with greater well-being and improved psychological functioning, whereas sleep schedule (i.e., average rising and retiring times) was significantly related to Conscientiousness, such that conscientious individuals maintain earlier schedules.

Sleep duration, wake/sleep symptoms, and academic performance in Hong Kong Secondary School Children

“…Academic performance was clearly linked to daytime sleepiness [23,33]; it was shown that the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS score >10) in students with poor grades was 20.5%, which was significantly higher than those with a fair grade (14.2%) and those with a good grade (14%) [14]. Other studies showed that students with more regular sleep-wake patterns (shorter sleep latencies, fewer night awakenings, later school rise times, later rise times on weekends) reported higher school grades [34], whereas students with lower grades reported increased daytime sleepiness with a shorter sleep. Although the current study did not reveal a correlation between EDS and academic performance, the significant association between sleepiness during the third and fourth lessons and academic performance corroborated previous findings.…”

“…Finally, comparing students from different ethnic backgrounds might be affected by the potential confounding effect of different types of families (authoritarian or permissive style) and different psychosocial commitments (extracurricular activities, social commitments) in different ethnic groups. Failure to take into account these potential confounding factors might introduce biases [34,36]. These potential biases were partially addressed in the current cohort who attended the same private school, and they were likely to come from similar socioeconomic groups.…”

DSPS-4: a Brief Measure of Perceived Daytime Sleepiness

“…With regard to the relationship between personality traits and sleep, Gray and Watson (2002) found that extraversion/positive emotionality was negatively correlated and neuroticism/negative emotionality positively correlated with sleep quality (the PSQI and subjective sleep inefficiency). In a more recent paper, Duggan et al (2014) examined links of the personality traits of conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, and openness with a range of factors related to sleep health including trait daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), in university students.…”

Personality and sleep quality: Evidence from four prospective studies.

“…Past research has implicated personality traits to sleep quality. Neuroticism, for example, has been associated consistently with poor sleep quality (Allen, Magee, & Vella, 2016; Duggan, Friedman, McDevitt, & Mednick, 2014; Cellini, Duggan, & Sarlo, 2017; Gray & Watson, 2002; Hintsanen et al, 2014; Kim et al, 2015; Huang, Peck, Mallya, Lupien, & Fiocco, 2016; Williams & Moroz, 2009). Most studies have also found a relation between conscientiousness and better sleep quality (Duggan et al, 2014; Gray & Watson, 2002; Hintsanen et al, 2014 ; Kim et al, 2015; Williams & Moroz, 2009), although two studies did not find support for this association (Allen et al, 2016 ; Cellini et al, 2017).…”

“…Neuroticism, for example, has been associated consistently with poor sleep quality (Allen, Magee, & Vella, 2016; Duggan, Friedman, McDevitt, & Mednick, 2014; Cellini, Duggan, & Sarlo, 2017; Gray & Watson, 2002; Hintsanen et al, 2014; Kim et al, 2015; Huang, Peck, Mallya, Lupien, & Fiocco, 2016; Williams & Moroz, 2009). Most studies have also found a relation between conscientiousness and better sleep quality (Duggan et al, 2014; Gray & Watson, 2002; Hintsanen et al, 2014 ; Kim et al, 2015; Williams & Moroz, 2009), although two studies did not find support for this association (Allen et al, 2016 ; Cellini et al, 2017). Higher extraversion has been related to better sleep quality in some studies (Allen et al, 2016; Gray & Watson, 2002; Hintsanen et al, 2014 ; Williams & Moroz, 2009), but not in others (Cellini et al, in press; Duggan et al, 2014; Huang et al, 2016; Kim et al, 2015).…”