farhan research paper

8/2/2019 Farhan Research Paper

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/farhan-research-paper 1/50

Eng 105

Research Topic- The Overall Effects of Staying Up Late OnUniversity Students

Submitted by:

Farhan Rashid Ahmed Ansari

ID- 0910711030

SEC-2

Date of Submission- 20.12.2011



Acknowledgement

The reason for choosing this particular topic was because of my parents, especially my mother

who has taken care of me for all these years. My mother has always ensured that I have proper

sleep. Hence, I ended up writing a research paper regarding sleep. I would also like to thank all

my respondents for filling up my questionnaire with patience.



Abstract

The topic for this particular research paper is “The Overall Effects Of Staying Up Late On

University Students”. The reason behind choosing this specific topic is due to the fact that a

growing number of university students are staying up late on a regular basis, which one could

say is a matter of concern. Most of the students cite reasons to study at night. Hence students stayup late. But do students only study at night? Not really, a survey was conducted which showed

that almost 40% were busy using the internet and talking on cell phones. Hence students are not

getting the optimum 7-8 hours of sleep. The objective of this particular is to determine how

staying up late at night has affected the university students. The main job of a student is their

education, interestingly most of the respondents or in this case university students have claimed

that sacrificing their sleep has immensely helped them in their studies or in other words it has

helped them in completing their assignments and to prepare for their midterms. Staying up late

may help students in their education but effects of staying up late on the health of the students

cannot be ignored. Most of the respondents have also implied that at times their parents‟ find it

disturbing seeing them stay up late. Many physicians and experts have consistently stated that

sleeping late at night cause stress, sleep deprivation, distortion of sleep pattern, diabetes and can

even speed up the aging process! If the students are really serious regarding their education, they

might as well complete all their tasks earlier in the day rather than leave it till the last minute.

Therefore the hypothesis of this research paper, students hardly pays attention of sleeping and

waking up at the right time. University students are distracted by other things and do not realize

the importance of sleeping earlier let alone the effects of sleeping late. As young adults it is up to

the students to maintain a healthy life during university which will have a favorable outcome in

the long run. It has been already proven that sleep influences the longevity of a human being.

Therefore it is best to go to bed earlier because it has a bad effect on a human being in everypossible manner.



Table of Content

Content Page Number

Introduction 1-2

Background 2-4

Research Questions 4

Hypothesis 4

Methodology 5

Data presentation and analysis 5- 16

Summary of research findings 16

Recommendation/suggestions 16- 17

Conclusion 17

Bibliography 18



1

Introduction

Dr. Benjamin Franklin one of the founding fathers of United States of America once said “Early

to bed early to rise, makes a man happy healthy and wise”. We human beings prioritize food,

shelter, social status, wealth etc. But there is only one thing which we do not give its due

importance, which is sleep. Sleep is very important for any human being of any age before goinginto further detail, what is the exact definition of sleep. The definition of sleep is defined by

Wikipedia as “a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness,

relatively suspended sensory activity and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles”. This

particular definition may be difficult to understand for those who are not involved in the medical

field due to the technical jargons which have been used. In other words sleep means to rest with

your eyes closed and your mind and body not active. As it is mentioned sleep is a type of rest but

it is by no means an ordinary one. Sleep is the pinnacle of all rests, which is why it is that

important for any living creature, especially for children, teenagers and even university students.

Hence the topic of this specific paper is “The Overall Effects Of Staying Up Late On University

Students”.

We may not give sleep the equal importance as money, yet it is hard to imagine our lives without

sleep. After a newborn baby is born the infant sleeps most of the time because it is important for

the health of the baby. Sleeps does not only play a crucial part on a baby‟s health. But sleep

plays a crucial role on teenagers and adults as well. University students, particularly the ones

who are pursuing their undergraduate degree fall in the category of young adults. There is a

common trend of staying up late at night, which is evident among university students. It may

seem that university students think that they are no longer kids or an infant which is why theyenjoy their “adulthood” by sleeping late at night, which results in a queer sleep pattern.

Most say that university life is the most cherished part of one‟s life, it indeed is true. But going

through university is by no means a walk in the park; it requires a lot of hard word,

determination and perseverance. In order to be successful in university a student need to sacrifice

various things including sleep. This is why some may argue that students can afford to sleep late

at night. A question can be also raised that if a student does pay so much attention then why he

or she has to spend the night indulging in gaining knowledge. When he or she can easily utilizethe early part of a day to complete the assignments and study for the Mid terms and Quizzes.

Does it make sense to sacrifice sleep for a work which can be done earlier in the day?



2

Staying up late at night may bring some fruitful results in the short term, but in the long run the

implications can be frightening. As it is mentioned by Serendip(2001) that sleep is needed to

function particular parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to operate in

the best possible way. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may

begin to malfunction, visibly affecting a person's behavior (The Effects on Brain and Behaviour,

para.1). The effects of staying up late have implications which are clearly not ideal for any

human being. Especially when it comes to university students, who may be adults but they are

still young. Therefore it is imperative for them to get the right amount of sleep.

Background

As mentioned earlier majority of university are staying up late, this has various effects on an

individual or in this case a university student. One of the common problems associated with

staying up late is sleep debt. What exactly is sleep debt? Wikipedia defines sleep debt as “Sleepdebt or sleep deficit is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep.” This is a common

problem which the students encounter. As a result an individual would try to make up the lack of

sleep by having a long good night sleep. The task for compensating for sleeping late is by no

means an easy job. A university student who has got a busy schedule may find it tough to make

up the loss of sleep, primarily because of lack of time. But if an individual often has less sleep,

that particular individual can experience chronic sleep debt. Therefore a person may try to get

sufficient sleep for two to three days, but if this entire process continues on a regular basis than

this would turn out to be more of a disadvantage than a advantage. As mentioned by

Warner(2010) a study had been done regarding the effects of lack of sleep on a regular basis for

instance working late, staying awake late at night, students preparing for examinations over afew take more than a night or two of good sleep to make up for. One of the researchers, Cohen

states “"Many people have a false sense of reassurance that they can quickly recover from a

chronic sleep debt with just one or two days of good sleep. However, the lingering effect of

chronic sleep loss causes performance to deteriorate dramatically when these individuals stay

awake for an extended period of time, for example when they try to pull an „all-nighter”.

Apart from sleep deprivation or sleep debt there are quite a few effects of staying up late on

university students. Students who voluntary stay up late think it brings them many benefits. Theconsequences of not sleeping on time on a regular basis can be frightening one. Staying up late

generally results in insufficient amount which in turn has bad effects a human‟s mental well

being, productivity, performance, cardiovascular diseases and many more. Hence sleep is not

crucial for resting our minds but also is vital for our body system to function in the proper way.

As far as university students are concerned, staying up late regularly at night may not benefit

students in their academic performance.



3

“College students who go to bed late are more likely to have poor quality sleep, which may

affect their mental health and academic performance, according to new research (“Science

Daily”, 2007). Therefore it is a myth among university students that staying up late benefits

students academically. But like anything else there are always different views regarding a matter

and this too is not different. Fleming (n.d.) explained that that there are students who tend get up

and immediately start to study on the hand there groups who prefers to do the opposite. In spite

of that most of the students say that they prefer to stay awake at night to study because the

students claim that it has helped them. And surprisingly enough science does prove that our mind

works better at the nightfall. He however mentions that most of the class takes place, which

results in drowsiness among students who have stayed awake most of the night. Therefore the

students cannot concentrate in class (Homework/study tips section, para. 1and 2).

In addition lack or deprivation of sleep can also increase stress among university students.

Students are already under immense stress as they face overwhelming amount of assignments,report, presentation and exams. To make matter worse, students are staying up late which results

in insufficient sleep. All in all, the situation has become such that it is like rubbing salt on the

wounds. This clearly explained in an article by Journal of Adolescent Health( 2009) reports that

most of the university students an approximate 68% stay up late at night and 20% sleep late only

once in a week. In addition, 60% of the students have “sleep-wake patterns” which is why they

take on drugs and alcohol to help cure the problem. On weeknights, 20 percent of students stay

up all night at least once a month and 35 percent stay up until 3 a.m. at least once a week.

Twelve percent of poor sleepers miss class three or more times a month or fall asleep in class. It

is also further mentioned in this study that students do not realize the significance of sleep in

their daily lives. They sacrifice their sleep during periods of stress as they do not recognize and

understand that by staying up late they are disrupting their physical and mental health (section

Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia, para 1,2 and 3). As far as the mental health is considered is

considered staying awake late at night excessively, could have an influence on an individual‟s

cognitive capability. This particular ability to integrate and interpret stimuli is vital for any

university student. Therefore when a student starts to study he or she may struggle to understand

the topic he or she studying on. This is further nullified by Yahalom(2007) that Colleges are

starting to realizing how sleep deprivation is affecting the academic and athletic performance of

their students. Students‟ staying awake has become a habit in higher education. A study at St.

Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., has reached the conclusion “all-nighters are not aneffective way to succeed in school”."You can't do your best work when you're sleep-deprived,"

says psychology professor Pamela Thatcher, who wrote the study. Thatcher studied the sleeping

patterns and transcripts of 111 students to determine the correlation between sleep and their

GPAs (Health and behavior section, para 1, 2 and 3). Students with the intention staying up late

at night may think that this strategy is working for them.



4

However, at times with excess amount of work and other commitments students may have to

sacrifice their sleep as “last resort”. As mentioned earlier mentioned students are constantly

being bombarded with assignments, exams, reports etc. Hence students are unable to complete

all their work before nightfall. University students come from diverse backgrounds. The students

from wealthy families can easily deal with the extremely high university tuition fees. All

students are not born with a silver spoon. This is why students coming from unprivileged

families work their way through university. It is seen that students from deprived families having

part time jobs to pay their fees and also to meet his or her daily life expenses. As a result these

hardworking students do not have anytime but to study at the night time.

In some other cases students may have other obligations that are very important that is why they

are bound to get involved in their studies after midnight. Some students may find the night time

peaceful as there is minimal distractions. Students also can go to bed with a sense of

accomplishment after completing an assignment.

Research Questions

Is it usual for university students to stay up late?

How does sleeping late at night help?

How does sleeping late at night affect one‟s education/studies? What do one‟s parents think of their child staying up till late at night?

How does sleeping late at night affect an individual‟s personal life?

How does one feel the next day after staying up late?

Hypothesis

It is seen that university students care about the kind of clothes they wear, food, social status

career etc. Students hardly pay attention of sleeping and waking up at the right time. University

students are distracted by other things and do not realize the importance of sleeping earlier let

alone the effects of sleeping late. University students are already suffering from enough stress

which is why the relevance of adequate sleep cannot be ignored. As young adults it is up to the

students to maintain a healthy life during university which will have a favorable outcome in the

long run. It has been already proven that sleep influences the longevity of a human being.

Therefore it is best to go to bed as earlier as possible because it has a bad effect on a human

being in every possible manner.



5

Research Methodology

As far as my primary research is concerned I carried out a survey where my sample which

consisted of university students of both female and male from different departments of different

semesters or years. I chose thirty students as my respondents. The questionnaire for my survey

consisted of different types of question ranging from multiple choice questions to open endedquestions. The core of my research is be based on this survey.

For my secondary research I used the resources of the web – books and articles, standard

references sources and databases, government documents, media and academic web-sites, etc.

Data presentation and analysis

Q1. How often do you stay up late at night?

The above graph is a bar chart showing the percentage of students sleeping late in a specific

number of days in a week. The y- axis represents the percentage of students and the x- axis

represents the number of days in a week.

It is clearly noticeable that the majority of the students stay up late at night to be precise around

44.83% of respondents stay up late. 24.14% and 17.24% of respondents stay up late in 1-2 days

and 3-4 days in a given week. Whereas a mere 13.79% of respondents have claimed that they do

not stay up late. Therefore this chart speaks volume of the trend to stay up late among university

students.

01020

30405060708090

100

Don't stay

up late

1-2 days 3-4 days above 5

days

Percentage of…



6

By the look of the chart, majority of the students spent most of time at night being busy instead

of going to bed. Students deem the night time as peaceful. Which is why students often get busy

with their preparation for the midterms, assignments etc.

2) How many hours did you usually sleep at night before joining university?

The above graph is a bar chart showing the number of hours the university students used to sleep

prior of joining university. The x-axis is representing the hours of sleep and the y-axis is

representing the percentage of students.

A very few university students used to sleep for 5-6 hours and less than 4 hours, to be precise

26.6% used to sleep for at most 6 hours. On the other hand a whopping 55.2% of the respondents

used to sleep 7-8 hours a day. And 17.2 % of the students slept more than 8 hours before joining

university.

Majority of the students claim to have sleep for 7-8 hrs, this is because during the school and

high school days students suffered from less stress than post school days. In addition, the

students did not have to spend the night studying and doing other activities at night as they were

done with them earlier in the day. Another prime reason would be that parents had more

authority and were stricter on their offspring during the school days.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Less than 4 hours 5-6 hrs 7-8 hrs More than 8 hrs



7

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university?

The above figure is a bar chart highlighting the hours of sleep the university students have. The

x-axis represents the hours of sleep and the y- axis represents the percentage of students.

The proportion of students sleeping for 5-6 hours is the highest (44.8%) among any other hours.

In contrast, only 6.9% of the students sleep for 3-4 hours at a stretch. In addition 37.9% sleep the

optimal hours which is 7-8 hours.

A very high percentage of students sleep for 5-6 hours, clearly short of 2-3 hours of ideal sleep

hours as suggested by experts. All in all most of the university students have very few hours as

they stay up late beyond night as they get busy with other activities.

0

20

40

60

80

100

3-4 hrs 4-5 hrs 5-6 hrs 7-8 hrs



8

4) How does staying up late affect you on next day of class?

The above figure is a bar chart which stresses on how staying up late has affected the students in

the next day of class. The x-axis represents how students feel after staying up late at night and

the y-axis represents the percentage.

The percentage of students who claim that they can still concentrate in class is 34.48%, which is

the highest. Only 17.24% of the respondents have expressed that they do not feel like attending

class.

Despite most of the students sleep late at night the respondents can still manage to concentrate in

class. This prime reason could be that students find concentrating the teacher‟s lecture very

important for their academic success.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Feel Drowsy Don't Even Want To Go To ClassCan Still Concentrate In Class Feel Nothing



9

5) At what time do you prefer having your first class?

The above graph is a bar chart highlighting the student‟s preferred time for their very first class.

The five timing of the class is represented by five different colors with the corresponding

percentage of students‟ preference of the time.

An astounding percentage (44.8%) of students prefers their class to start at 11:20 AM. On the

other hand a mere 3.4% of the respondents favor 1:00 PM to start off their day.

Most of the students who stay up late at night are reluctant to start their classes at 8:00 AM, only

6.9% of the students prefer this time. This is because; waking up in early in the morning appears

to be very difficult for the students. A very high proportion of students prefer 9:40 and 11:20,

primarily because they deem it to be the ideal time to start their classes and end their day early as

possible.

6) What is your parent‟s view when sleep late at night?

13.80%

31%44.80%

3.40%6.90%

8:00 AM

9:40 AM

11:20

1:00

2:40 PM



10

This is a bar chart showing the opinion of the parent‟s opinion regarding their children staying

awake late at night. The x-axis represents the different opinion of the parents and the y-axis is

highlighting the percentage of the students.

Almost 40% of the student‟s parents tell their offspring to go to bed. In contrast, 10.34% of the

student‟s parents have not expressed any opinion.

Majority of the students parents want their sons and daughters to go to bed early and 31.03% of

the student‟s parents have tried to make it clear to their offspring that staying awake late at night

is not a healthy option. This is understandable as parents would be concerned about their

children‟s health. Interestingly 20.63% of the students‟ parents have hit the nail in the head as

they have suggested to their young ones to finish off their work earlier in the day.

0

20

40

60

80

100

They Always Nag

You To Go To Bed

Early

They Suggest You

Finish Work As

Early As Possible

It's Unhealthy They Are

Indifferent



11

7) What do you usually do when you stay up late?

The above figure is a bar chart highlighting the different activities the students find themselves in

at night. The x-axis and the y-axis represent the various activities and the percentage of students

respectively.

A whopping 48.28% of the respondents have claimed that they spend the night preparing

themselves for midterms and to complete their assignments. The rest of the students spent their

time in front of their personal computer and being involved in other activities.

Most of the students face many midterms and assignments throughout a particular semester.Which is why they are willing to sacrifice their sleep in order to get the job done. Whereas

34.48% of the respondents use their computers for using social networking websites and playing

video games etc. On the other hand, 17.24% of the students get engaged in other activities most

notably talking on their cell phone.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Use Computer Study for Mids

and Assignment

Others



12

9) How has staying up late at night helped you in your studies?

The above figure is a bar chart highlighting the effects of staying up late on student‟s studies.

The x-axis represents the effects on the studies and the y-axis represents the percentage of

students.

Almost 50% of the respondents have mentioned that staying up late has benefited their studies.

Meanwhile 6.9% was not willing to tell the situation and 20.695 of students have said that it had

made it worse.

It is heartening to see that majority of the students have made good use of the night time in their

studies. This shows that the students are focused and serious in their studies. In contrast 20.69%

were honest that their situation has not improved. This is because they are not serious in their

studies and have wasted the night time instead of studying.

0

20

40

60

80

100

It Has Been Very

Helpful

It Hasn't Made

Much Of A

Difference

It Made It Worse Can't Say



13

10) Has sleeping late at night become a habit for you or do you find it necessary?

The above figure is a pie chart stressing how students feel regarding staying up late at night. The

different opinions are represented with different colors.

An approximate of 48.03% of students has stated that staying up late has become a habit; this is

the highest percentage of students having a particular view. Next in line, 37.90% of the students

claim they use the time to study. In contrast only 3.4% of students have said that they are no

longer young to sleep early.

This chart highlights the reason why many students are staying up late. Sleeping late has become

a habit for the majority of the students due to workload that the students have. It is seen that evenwhen the students do not have work to do, they stay awake at night.

48.30%

10.30%

3.40%

37.90%

It is a habit

I can't even think about

going to bed a lot

earlier

I am no longer a kid

that I need to sleep eay

I need to study



14

11) How often do you suffer from sleep debt?

The above pie chart is highlighting the degree of sleep debt suffered by the students. The degree

of sleep is rated at a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being when the individual hardly suffers from it.

And the rate of 5 means the individual experience sleep debt regularly.

Majority of the students 27.60% of the students have said they suffer from sleep debt but not to

an extent which could be unhealthy to them. An equal percentage of 24.10% of students hardly

suffer from sleep debt and excess sleep debt.

The overall pie chart stresses the point that due to having insufficient sleep, most of the students

experience sleep debt.

24.10%

10.30%

27.60%

13.80%

24.10%

1

2

3

4

5

Degree

of Sleep

Debt



15

12) What step do you take when you suffer from sleep debt in a particular week?

The above figure is a bar chart highlighting the tactics that are undertaken by the students to

recover from sleep debt. The x-axis and y- axis represents the usual strategies by the students and

the percentage of the students respectively.

The strategy of sleeping in the weekends is widely used among most of the students as 67.9% of

the students use the strategy. Only 13.8% of the students does not do anything about their sleep

debt.

Most of the weeks in a semester put a lot of pressure on the students, which is why they

compensate their lack of sleep in the weekends. When students are suffering from fatigue they

tend to fall asleep in the middle of working on an assignment or while preparing themselves for

midterms. Some students, on the other hand do not have the time to make up for the loss of sleep

because there are some who have got other commitments.

13) Please describe how has sleeping late at night has helped you?

This particular was an open ended question. Most of the respondents had similar answers. There

were few answers which were different from the rest.

Majority of the students have claimed that staying up late have done wonders to their studies. In

spite of the sleep troubles, students have made full use of the night time to prepare themselves of

0

20

40

60

80

100

I try to sleep as

much as possible

during the

weekends

I do not have the

time to sleep

I fall asleep when

I am doing

something



16

the midterms. Most of the respondents have mentioned the night time as peaceful as there is no

distraction whatsoever. Staying up late has not only benefited their studies, it has also helped

them to communicate with their loved ones and friends who live abroad via Skype. On the other

hand, there were students who have admitted that staying up late has not helped them.

Summary of Research Findings

Majority of the university students are sleeping late at night which indeed is a matter of concern.

To be precise a staggering 86.21% of students stay awake. Interestingly it has also been seen that

male students stayed awake more often than their female counterpart. In fact 26.675 of female

students have claimed they go to sleep well before midnight. In contrast none of the male

students sleep early. It was also found that a typical university sleeps far less than what he or she

was a school student.

In addition, there are hardly any students sleeping for 7-8 hours at a stretch due to staying up

late. In spite of the insufficient sleep, 34.48% of the students have claimed that they can

concentrate in class and 48.28% of students have said that staying up late has benefited them to

have better results in their courses. This is because most of students staying up late spend the

night studying. A very healthy proportion of students have stated that they suffer from excessive

sleep debt but they can still manage to overcome this sleep debt when they are free, especially

during the weekends.

It is true that students are not having enough sleep. Yet they are battling themselves through this

problem and managing to have fruitful outcomes in their studies. Students have also mentioned

that they are mentally satisfied when they stay up late because it gives them the freedom to do

anything as long as possible, with peace. A typical student prioritizes their education more than

anything else. It seems that most of the students are willing to stay up late to do well. This is whythe hypothesis is not satisfied.

Recommendation/Suggestions

Staying up late at night may be beneficial to the students as far as their studies are concerned.

Students perceive sacrifice as worthwhile. But there are other adverse effects of staying up late at



17

night for instance sleep disorder. At the end of the day, commonsense has to prevail and students

need to realize that it is best to sleep as early as possible and finish all the work before night fall.

Hence students will be healthier and their academy performance would enhance.

Conclusion

Throughout this research paper it has been repeated over and over again that there is a trend

among university students to stay up late at night. Or in other words stay up late well beyond

midnight. This trend or fashion is a worrying sign for the health of the students. It is surprising,

that university students coming off age do not realize the consequence of sleeping late at night.

The purpose of this research paper was to identify the overall effects of staying up late. There has

been some fascinating and interesting and revelations regarding this matter. In a net shell,

numerous medical experts and various academics have strongly opposed sleeping late at night.

This is because it has harmful effects on the human body like stress, diabetes, distortion in sleep

pattern, chronic sleep deprivation or in other words sleep debt etc. A survey was conducted

among thirty university students, it was clearly understandable that majority of the students were

suffering from stress from the workload and lack of sleep caused from staying up late. A

university student‟s main job is to study; this was the main reason for them to stay up late. In

addition most of the students have strongly claimed that sleeping late at night has done wonders

for their education, even if they were suffering from stress and fatigue. Parents have no objection

regarding their children‟s unorthodox sleep pattern, even though at times they convey their

concerns about their offspring‟s queer sleep habit. At the end of the day students perceive

education as the most vital ingredient to have a successful career, even if it means to sacrifice

their sleep.



18

Bibliography

1.Fleming,G. (n.d.). Should You Stay Up Late to Study?. About.com. Retrieved from

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/mindandbody/qt/latestudy.htm

2.Going To Bed Late May Affect The Health, Academic Performance Of

College Students. (2007, June 13). Science Daily. Retrieved fromhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070613071200.htm

3.Larson, G. (n.d.). Staying up late :Is it worth it? Retrieved

from http://ezinearticles.com/?Staying-Up-Late---Is-It-Worth-It?&id=811098

4.Sleep Deprivtion. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation

5.Sleep. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep

6.The effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behaviour. (2008, April).

Retrieved from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690

7.The Franklin Institute Resources for Science Learning. (n.d.). The Human Brain.

Renew-Sleep and Stress. Retrieved from http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/sleep.html

8.University of Michigan. (n.d.). Emergency. Sleep.Retrieved from

http://www.campusmindworks.org/students/self_care/sleep.asp

9.Why Sleeping Late At Night Is Bad. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.sleepenough.com/why-sleeping-late-at-night-is-bad

10.Yahalom, T. (2007, September 17). College students' performance suffers from lack of sleep.

USA TODAY . Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-09-16-sleep-

Deprivation_N.htm



19

Appendix

RESEARCH PROPOSAL: Sleep

Date: September 31, 2013

To: Rafia Tahseen

From: A B C, English 105, sec. 2; ID # 0910711030

Subject: Proposal to do a research paper/project on the overall effects on university students who

stay up late.

Introduction

Dr. Benjamin Franklin one of the founding fathers of the United States once said “Early to bed

and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Sleep is important for an individual of

any age to lead a happy and a healthy life. It has been noticeable that university students are

sleeping late at night which implies that they are ignoring the importance of maintaining a proper

sleeping pattern.

Some may argue that being young university students need to study hard in order to have a

prosperous career in the future, which is why sleeping late at night is deemed to be worthwhile.

But there are always a good and a bad aspect in a matter. Working hard does not necessary mean

staying up late. With the advent of technology in this day and age perhaps it has become a

“fashion statement” for university students to stay up late. But at the end of the day students have

to look after them. Hence, it is very important for university students to realize that staying up

late has adverse effects.

Research Questions

The purpose of my research is to found all sort of effects of sleeping up late on university

students. In addition I would also want to find out why they are not maintaining proper sleep.

Is it usual for university students to stay up late? How does sleeping late at night help?






20

Hypothesis

It is seen that university students care about the kind of clothes they wear, food, social status

career etc. Students hardly pay attention of sleeping and waking up at the right time. University

students are distracted by other things and do not realize the importance of sleeping earlier let

alone the effects of sleeping late. As young adults it is up to the students to maintain a healthylife during university which will have a favorable outcome in the long run. It has been already

proven that sleep influences the longevity of a human being. Therefore it is best to go to bed

earlier because it has a bad effect on a human being in every possible manner.

Research Methodology

As far as my primary research is concerned I would carry out a survey where my sample would

consist of university students of both female and male from different departments of different

semesters or years. I have chosen thirty students as my respondents. The questionnaire for my

survey would consist of different types of question ranging from multiple choice questions toopen ended questions. The core of my research would be based on this survey.

For my secondary research I plan to use the resources of the library and the web – books and

articles, standard references sources and databases, government documents, media and academic

web-sites, etc.

Organization

My paper will be divided in several segments, the most crucial of which are the Introduction,

Background, Data Presentation and Analysis, and Summary of Findings. Within these sections

my organization will be based on my research questions and hypothesis and survey.

Timetable

I am planning to complete my primary research by the first week of November which is

primarily carrying out the survey among my peers. And my secondary research by mid

November. And by the end of December I plan to complete my research before final examination

and prepare for the presentation at the end of the semester.



21

Original Questionnaire

Gender: Male Female

Department:

Semester:

1) How often do you stay up late at night in a week?

a. I don‟t stay up late

b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs


4)How does staying up late affect you on next day of class?

a. Feel sleepy, easy to fall asleep in class

b. Don‟t even want to go to class

c. Can still concentrate in class

d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM



22

c.11:20 AM

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM

6) How has staying up late affected your relationship with your parents?

a. It‟s the same

b. It has gotten better

c. It has gotten worse

d. None of the above


a. Use computer (eg. Internet, chatting)

b. Study for Mids

c. Assignments or report paper

d. clubbing or party

8) How has staying up late affected your relationship with your friends?

a. It‟s the same

b. It has gotten better

c. It has gotten worse



a. It has been very helpful

b. It hasn‟t been much of a help

c. It made it worse


10) Please describe how has sleeping late at night helped you?



23

Modified Questionnaire

Gender: Male Female

Department:

Semester:



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs






d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM



24

c.11:20 AM

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM

6) What is your parent’s view when you sleep late at night?

a. They always nag you to go to bed early

b. They give you suggestion to finish off the work as early as possible

c. It‟s unhealthy

d. They are indifferent



b. Study for Mids



e. Other (Mention if any)


a. It‟s the same

b. It has gotten better because ___________________________________________

c. It has gotten worse because

___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




25

10) Has sleeping late at night for you become a habit or is it required for you?

a It is a habit

b. I can‟t even think about going to bed a lot earlier

c. I am no longer a kid that I need to sleep early

d. I need to study

11) How often do you suffer from SLEEP DEBT (cumulative effect of not getting enough

sleep)? Place a CIRCLE in the place that most closely reflects your view.

12) What steps do you take when you suffer from sleep debt in a particular week?

a. I try to sleep as much as possible in the weekends

b. I don‟t have enough time to sleep

c. I fall asleep when I am doing something


It is very usual for

me

Hardly suffer from it



26

Six Filled in Questionnaire

Gender: Male Female

Department: EEE

Semester: 3



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university?(3-4 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM



27

c.11:20 AM

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same



___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




28


a. It is a habit



d. I need to study








Gives me time to study, play video games, browsing, working on hobbies etc. life would would be really if I didn‟t sleep late.


me




29

Gender: Male Female

Department: BBA

Semester: 4



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university? ( 6 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM

c.11:20 AM



30

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same



___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




31


a It is a habit



d. I need to study








I can do my projects, assignments and social networking at night. The best part is, when I feellonely I do facebooking. It gives me entertainment and I don‟t feel sad or lonely. Sleeping late at

night may not have helped me a lot but it has removed my loneliness.


me




32

Gender: Male Female

Department: BBA

Semester: 2



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university? (8 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM

c.11:20 AM



33

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same

b. It has gotten better because __most of my friends stay abroad so I get to talk to them on

Skype________________________________________


___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




34


a. It is a habit



d. I need to study








It has to study before midterms, because I can study with full concentration at night as it is lessnoisy.


me




35

Gender: Male Female

Department: EEE

Semester: 3



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university? ( 7-8 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM

c.11:20 AM



36

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same



___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




37


a It is a habit



d. I need to study








It has helped me give time to a particular task and even stay connected to friends who live abroad because I don‟t for it during the daytime.


me




38

Gender: Male Female

Department: BBA

Semester: 4



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university?( 8 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM

c.11:20 AM



39

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same



___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




40


a It is a habit



d. I need to study








It does not help in any way


me




41

Gender: Male Female

Department: BBA

Semester: 7



b. 1-2 days a week

c. 3-4 days a week

d. Above 5 days


a. less than 4hours

b. 5-6 hrs

c. 7-8 hrs

d. More than 8 hrs

3) How many hours do you sleep since joining university? ( 4-5 hours)





d. Feel nothing


a. 8 AM

b. 9:40 AM

c.11:20 AM



42

d. 1:00 PM

e. 2:40 PM




c. It‟s unhealthy




b. Study for Mids





a. It‟s the same



___________________________________________________





c. It made it worse




43


a It is a habit



d. I need to study








Before a midterm I don‟t really have to worry about staying up late, it has become a habit.


me




44

Outline

The Overall Effects Of Staying Up Late On University Students

Name-Farhan Rashid Ahmed Ansari

ID- 0910711030

SEC- 2

Acknowledgement

I would like to give the credit to my parents who have always looked after me and they have

helped me and inspire me to choose this particular topic. My friends have also cooperated withme throughout while I was conducting the survey.

Abstract

The topic for this particular research paper is “The Overall Effects Of Staying Up Late On

University Students”. The reason behind choosing this specific topic is due to the fact that a

growing number of university students are staying up late on a regular basis, which one could

say is a matter of concern. The main job of a student is their education, interestingly most of the

respondents or in this case university students have claimed that sacrificing their sleep has

immensely helped them in their studies or in other words it has helped them in completing their

assignments and to prepare for their midterms

Introduction

There is a common trend among university students to stay up late. But the effects of sleeping

late cannot be ignored; it may benefit the students regarding their education. Numerous experts

have mentioned that the consequences of not having a proper sleep are harmful for a human

being.

Background

The implications of staying up late will be discussed thoroughly. Sleep can affect us in many

aspects of our lives as well as on a student.

Research Questions

How does sleeping late at night help?




45



Hypothesis

It is not the best option to stay up late because it has a bad effect on a human being in everypossible manner especially on a student.

Methodology

As far as my primary research is concerned I would carry out a survey where my sample would

be 30 individuals consisting of university students of both female and male from different

departments of different semesters or years. The questionnaire for my survey would consist of

different types of question ranging from multiple choice questions to open ended questions. The

core of my research would be based on this survey.For my secondary research I plan to use the

resources of the library and the web – books and articles, standard references sources and

databases, government documents, media and academic web-sites, etc.

Data presentation and analysis

The respondent‟s variety of answers to different questions will be on display by the means of

analysis and exhibiting graphs. In this section one would be able to know how has staying up late

affects a university student.

Summary of Research Findings

Most of the students have stressed the fact that staying up late has benefited them especially in

their studies. In spite of experiencing sleep deprivation.

Recommendations/suggestions

Staying up late is clearly not the best options. Students need to focus on their education but that

does not mean they have to sacrifice their sleep, they might as well finish off their work as early

as possible rather leaving it till the last minute.

Conclusion

The hypothesis has not been proven right. Students claim that they are young and education is

very important even if it means sacrificing their sleep.

Bibliography

The effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behaviour. (2008, April).

Retrieved from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1690



The Franklin Institute Resources for Science Learning. (n.d.). The Human Brain.

Renew-Sleep and Stress. Retrieved from http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/sleep.html

farhan research paper

Documents