title: University students and "the all nighter": correlates and patterns of students' engagement in a single night of total sleep deprivation.
abstract: This study evaluated the self-reported patterns, motivations, and correlates of engagement in a single night of total sleep deprivation (SN-TSD) in a sample of 120 university students at a 4-year liberal arts college. Participants' mean age . was 20.1 years; the sample was 63% female. Measures included the Owl-Lark Scale of circadian preference; the Beck Depression Inventory; and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); as well as self-reported usual bedtime, rise time, and total sleep time. Students' cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) were also obtained; these were reported from the university registrar. Sixty percent of students surveyed reported engaging in SN-TSD once or more since coming to college. No differences between genders or among class standing with respect to use of SN-TSD were detected. Engagement in SN-TSD was associated with later self-reported bedtimes, evening preference, and poorer academic achievement as measured by GPA. A trend for increased symptoms of depression was detected; sleep quality as measured by the PSQI was not related to engagement in SN-TSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 13617, USA. pthacher@stlawu.edu
authors.forename: Pamela V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Thacher
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*