Sammenheng mellom søvnunderskudd og skoleprestasjoner blant niendeklassinger.
Forskere fra Universitetet i Agder og Universitetet i Oslo har i denne studien undersøkt sammenhengen mellom søvnighet, underskudd på søvn og skoleprestasjoner blant ungdom.I den internasjonale studien «Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study» (TIMSS) deltok henholdsvis 4499 i 2015 og 4685 i 2019 norske niendeklassinger og deres lærere. Resultatene i studien viste en negativ sammenheng mellom søvnunderskudd og skoleprestasjoner i matematikk og realfag. Utilstrekkelig søvn kan ha negativ innvirkning på folkehelse og påvirke elevers skoleprestasjoner, og bør derfor tas hensyn til av både utdannings og helsemyndigheter.
Publisert 13.10.2022
Sist oppdatert 14.10.2022
Frøydis N. Vik, Trude Nilsen, Nina C. Øverby
Studien er publisert i BMC Public Health
Background: Sufficient sleep is important to an individual's health and well-being, but also for school achievement among adolescents. This study investigates the associations between sleepiness, sleep deficits, and school achievements among adolescents.
Methods: This trend study involved a representative sample of Norwegian adolescents based on the "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study" (TIMSS), N = 4499 (2015) and N = 4685 (2019) and their teachers. The students were 9th graders from a Norwegian compulsory secondary school. The survey included questions on students' sleepiness as students reported in 2019 and sleep deficits among students that limited teaching in class as their teachers reported in 2015 and 2019. Regression, triangulation, and mediation analyses were used. Mplus was used to perform the statistical analyses.
Results: The results revealed significant negative associations between sleep deficits and school achievements, adjusted for gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and minority status among Norwegian 9th graders. These results were found for both mathematics and science achievements in 2015 and 2019. Sleepiness that the students reported was negatively associated with school achievements in 2019. Trend and mediation analyses showed that sleep deficits explained 18 and 11% of the decrease in mathematics and science achievements, respectively, from 2015 to 2019.
Conclusions: Sleep deficits were associated with school achievements in mathematics and science among Norwegian 9th graders. Mediation analyses revealed that sleep deficits explained a significant part of the decline in academic achievements. Insufficient sleep may have negative public health implications and influence adolescents' academic achievements and competences, and should therefore be discussed in both the educational and health systems.