Investigating the interactional effects of sociodemographic factors and sleep quality on academic achievement among Malaysian undergraduate students

• Main Authors: Mazni Mustapha, Thurgha Ramasamy, Noorma Razali
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: Fakulti Psikologi dan Pendidikan, Universiti Malaysia Sabah 2022
• Subjects: LB2300-2430 Higher education; RA773-788 Personal health and hygiene Including clothing, bathing, exercise, travel, nutrition, sleep, sex hygiene
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/35821/1/ABSTRACT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/35821/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/35821/

Sleep is one of the vital aspects of our life. Its importance, however, often receives a lack of attention especially amongst university students who would commonly replace some hours of night sleep with alternative activities. Whilst most studies have reported that sleep disturbances could bring harm to a person’s life, there is still a lack of studies that examine the interaction effects of socio-demographic factors and sleep quality on academic achievement. Hence, this study aimed to identify: (1) the relationship between sleep quality and academic performance based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of university students, (2) differences in the academic performance of these students based on their study programmes, year of study, gender, ethnicities and quality of sleep, and (3) the interaction effects of these demographic variables and quality of sleep on the students’ academic performance. A sample of 107 undergraduate students from a public university in Sabah, Malaysia, voluntarily participated in this study by completing a set of questionnaires. The results revealed a positive correlation between sleep quality and academic performance. Those who were ‘goodsleepers’ showed the tendency of low academic achievement when they reached senior year, whilst ‘poor-sleepers’ were more likely to have higher academic achievement at the later year of studying. The findings imply that having a ‘high quality of longer waking hours’ in fulfilling academic commitments is probably a worthwhile effort in maintaining good grades during the final year of studying. The findings support the social learning theory that a person could alter his behaviour in order to fit with the demands of the environment.