What is Known About Students and Sleep: Systematic Review and Evidence Map

Abstract

Higher education students are considered to belong to a population susceptible to poor sleep health; however, there is a lack of broader evidence reviews. This systematic review aims to map out and categorize the existing literature related to higher education students and sleep. The present evidence map is based on a comprehensive systematic literature search of ten electronic databases, which resulted in 15,286 unique citations. After title/abstract, and full-text screening: 515 studies were included in the final map. Most of the studies were cross-sectional ( n = 357, 69%), while 77 (15%) studies assessed the effectiveness of an intervention. Sixty-eight (13%) studies followed a cohort prospectively over time, and 8 (2%) studies utilized a qualitative design. The most frequent outcome was the proportion of sleep problems, which was reported in 226 (44%) studies. Weekday sleep duration was reported in 156 (30%) studies. Results from this mapping process suggest that evidence about students` sleep health is emerging; however, the evidence base is mostly quantitative and descriptive, and there is a lack of sleep health programs designed for students.

The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Consequences on Medical Students’ Sleep Patterns and Technology Addiction

“…It is known that recovery from a sleepless night requires a minimum of 7 nights of normal sleep, which suggests that a significant number of students suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. According to restorative theory [32], the purpose of sleep is to reorganize and store information, and cortical neurons that are involved in memory and careful learning need to rest in sleep [33].…”

Wake-up time and academic performance of university students in Indonesia: A cross-sectional study

“…A recent systematic review found that the most common sleep health characteristic studied in the student population was sleep duration (Bjørnnes et al, 2021), and much fewer studies have been devoted to sleep timing (e.g., bedtime/wakeup time) (Chaput et al, 2020). To this day, the relationship between sleep and school performance we found in the literature is not clear (Jalali et al, 2020).…”

“…Gradisar et al's (2011) review of sleep patterns and problems during adolescence found that Asian teens went to bed later and slept less than European and American teens. However, most studies were from westernized countries (Bjørnnes et al, 2021). In Asia and Indonesia, most studies were conducted among students in a specific subject, such as medical (Datta et al, 2018;Jalali et al, 2020), pharmacist (Sari et al, 2017), dental (Elagra et al, 2016), midwifery (Khairiyah and Anjan, 2017), nursing (Olii et al, 2018), which has limited generalizability.…”

“…Few sleep studies discuss the relation between chronotype and academic achievement (Bjørnnes et al, 2021). Bedtime and waking times among students reflect external commitments (timing of sleep) and circadian preferences (times of day when students will be most alert).…”

“…Similarly, a review by Wheaton et al (2016) provides evidence that postponing the start of school time increases weekday sleep time in adolescents, primarily by delaying waking times. Although starting later may improve student wellbeing, the effect on academic achievement remains uncertain (Bjørnnes et al, 2021). Some evidence suggests a positive relationship between later school start times and academic achievement.…”