Academic performance of night-shift students and its relationship with the sleep-wake cycle

Objectives: The assessment of student achievement in the teaching-learning is a constant concern of the study professors. Actually the night shift is a reality in favor of the persons seeking qualification for a position in the labor market. This study aimed to evaluate the academic performance and correlate with the indices of student achievement and sleep patterns. Methods: Participants were college students from the University Center Herminio Ometto, UNIARARAS, SP, (n = 139) with a mean age of 23.59 years. Were used: a questionnaire to gather personal information and professional evaluation of sleep-wake cycle (sleep diaries), validated by Benedito-Silva et al. (1990). For the analysis of academic performance, we used the Scheduled System Assessment (SPA). Results: The sleep patterns were statistically different between groups (Mann-Whitney) for the variables bedtime (p < 0.001), bedtime (p <0.001), time to wake up (p <0.001) and duration nap (p = 0.009). As for academic performance, students in the daytime period had higher mean values when compared with the group the night. Conclusion: The group of diurnal periods showed better academic performance in comparison with that of the night. The later the hour of waking, the lower academic performance, suggesting the effect of nighttime sleep and deficits. The sleep quality was better for the group of the day.