The Relationship Between Sleep Deprivation, Cognitive Function, and Academic Performance among Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Objective: To analyze the intensity of sleep deprivation among medical students, understand its effects on cognitive function, and investigate any relationships it may have with academic achievement. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted at various medical colleges in Pakistan over 4 months. The sample size of 351 was calculated via OpenEpi software. Data were collected online via a self-generated questionnaire using convenience sampling. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was confirmed with Cronbach’s alpha after a pilot study on 20% of the sample. SPSS 26 was used to analyze the relationships among sleep deprivation, cognitive function, and academic performance using via chi-square test, with significance set at pResults: Among the 351 medical students, 63.5% reported that more sleep could improve academic outcomes, whereas 8.3% reported poor performance. Over 20% experienced cognitive issues such as forgetfulness, and more than 35% had not experienced major sleep disturbances in the past month. Furthermore, our study revealed weak negative associations between sleep deprivation and both cognitive function and academic performance, with no significant correlation between cognitive function and academic performance. Conclusion: Our study revealed weak negative correlations between sleep deprivation and both cognitive function and academic performance, suggesting that poor sleep is only marginally associated with increased cognitive failure and lower self-reported performance. Additionally, no significant link was found between cognitive function and academic performance, indicating that cognitive failure does not have a strong effect on perceived academic success.