How Sleep Deprivation Affects Psychological Variables Related to College Students Cognitive Performance

How Sleep Deprivation Affects Psychological Variables Related to College Students Cognitive Performance

Jenny R. Downs
Fall07, PSY 1513 41
General Psychology (MSVCC) (2575)
    Sleep deprivation is very common for college students. A pattern is usually

developed with sleep deprivation peaking during the week and even more during exam

periods. Performance levels are significantly lower during these periods even though the

students beleived that their performance was better. Many studies have been conducted to

try to evaluate the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and on

psychological variables related to cognitive performance in college students. The study in

this reading included sixty-five volunteers. Of the sixty-five, only fourty-four participants

finished the study. In the study, the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal was given

to participants to measure cognitive performance. This test had a fourty minute time limit.

The Profile of Mood States scale was used simultaneously with the Watson-Glaser

Thinkin Appraisal to assess the mood of the volunteers. The entire study lasted from

10:00pm on a Friday night to 11:00am the next morning. Twenty-four hours of sleep

deprivation was all that was allowed for this experiment. No alcohol or non-prescription

drugs were allowed for this study. The result of the study concluded that the participants

that were sleep-deprived did much worse on the Watson-Glaser Thinking Appraisal than

did the participants who had sleep. The sleep deprived participants reported that they had

higher concentration, put in more effort and had better performance than the participants

that had no lack of sleep. The findings concluded that they did significantly worse than

the students that were not sleep-deprived. The only increases that the sleep-deprived  

participants had were in fatigue and confusion. The study concluded that the non-... [continues]

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