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Abstract

Purpose: Sleep is widely known to influence aspects of neurocognitive health and performance. In various students, sleep is related to academic performance and cognitive tasks. However, the association of sleep to academic performance among Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to objectively measure sleep characteristics and academic performance in a cohort of DPT students.

Methods: This observational cohort study sampled n=24 first-term DPT students. Subjects wore ActiGraph® GT9X-BT wrist accelerometry 24 hours/day for 30 consecutive days during a 15-week academic term. Investigators collected ActiGraph® sleep duration (ASD), efficiency (ASE), and self-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in relation to grade point average (GPA).

Results: Mean(SD) sleep duration was 5.8(0.9) hours/night and first-term GPA was 3.45(0.3). ASD significantly correlated with GPA at r = 0.73 (ptwo-tailed, large effect size. PSQI correlated with GPA at r = -0.68 (p<0.01) two-tailed, medium effect size. In a linear regression, ASD and PSQI predicted end-of-term GPA (adj. R2=0.54, p2 = 0.52; p<0.001).

Conclusion: Overall, sleep duration, quality, and efficiency were significantly predictive of future GPA in this sample. Sleep duration and sleep quality were the strongest and most significantly related to GPA, and relationships were stronger than hypothesized. In large part, this sample recorded average nightly sleep duration below the current recommendations of seven hours. Two thirds of students were observed having poor sleep quality and duration. Administrators of health professional programs should consider incorporating sleep education as part of a wholistic, cost-effective, and student-centered support mechanism to improve academic outcomes.

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