Relationship Between Sleep and Cognitive Ability

Abstract

Sleep has been recognized as a factor that plays a crucial role in cognitive ability. However, nowadays, sleep is often sacrificed for other work in society. To prove or observe the real relationship between sleep and cognitive ability, this study examines the relationship between sleep duration and cognitive ability among adolescents or high school student body. Thirty-five students aged from 14 to 19 reported their sleep from the previous night and answered 11 cognitive questions. A scatterplot, regression line, and t-test were used to analyze the data. The regression line and scatterplot showed no significant relationship between sleep and cognitive ability. Due to an unexpected number of participants who did not follow the instructions, an additional t-test was done to examine the difference between the group that followed instructions and the group that did not. However, the t-test showed that the data are not statistically significant, indicating that there was no correlation between the immediate amount of sleep and cognitive ability.