Week 3: Writing and Changing Course

Welcome back to my blog. It has been a while since my last post, so I will begin with a brief recap. In week 2, I finished reading my course texts and closed the loop connecting memory consolidation to academic outcomes. Additionally, I read about potential solutions to the adolescent sleep deprivation crisis, including weekend recovery sleep and later school start times. 

This week, I completed the first drafts of my introduction and literature review. Some key subsections include: The Prevalence and Consequences of Sleep Deprivation, The Stages of Sleep and Key Brain Structures, Types of Memory, Academic Performance, and Recovery Sleep. Some key points from my introduction and literature review are: 

-Around 73% of high school students are sleep-deprived (Garcia et al., 2023; Hershner and Chervin, 2014)

-Some causes of sleep deprivation include: delayed circadian/biological clocks during puberty, early school start times, academic pressure, technology use, and sleep disorders (affects around 27% of students) (Banks and Dinges, 2007; Wang et al., 2025; Dewald et al., 2010). 

-Sleep helps move memories from the Hippocampus (short-term storage) to the Neocortex (long-term storage) (Born and Wilhelm, 2012; Seoane et al., 2020). 

-Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep (specifically, slow wave sleep) strengthens declarative memory, while REM sleep enhances emotional and procedural memory and creativity (Seoane et al., 2020; Cunningham et al., 2025)

-Potential solutions include delaying school start times and promoting sleep hygiene (Hershner and Chervin, 2014; Dewald et al., 2010). 

-Key research gaps include exploring subject-specific impacts and the effects of recovery sleep (Lowe et al., 2017; Lin et al., 2025).

This week, I also began developing my surveys. In addition to creating targeted questions, I am also currently planning distribution methods. Some sample questions include: 

-What grade level are you currently in?

-On average, how many hours of sleep do you get on weeknights (Sunday-Thursday)?

-On average, how many extra hours of sleep do you get on weekends compared to weekdays?

-In your opinion, does sleep affect your ability to learn or remember STEM or Humanities material more? 

I will begin collecting survey results next week. If you are interested, I will include the Google Form link in next week’s blog post. Furthermore, I have decided to pivot away from conducting secondary data analysis and instead administer a memory-based test measuring STEM and Humanities material recall. This method would better align with my research question and potentially lead to more significant results. I am also considering expanding my sample to adolescents (ages 13-19) as a whole, rather than just college students, to gain additional responses. 

In week 4, I will begin collecting survey responses and finalize details around memory test administration. I hope to see you soon! 

References: 

Banks, S., & Dinges, D. F. (2007). Behavioral and physiological consequences of sleep restriction. Journal of clinical sleep medicine, 3(5), 519-528. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.26918 

Born, J., & Wilhelm, I. (2012). System consolidation of memory during sleep. Psychological research, 76(2), 192-203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-011-0335-6 

Cunningham, T. J., Denis, D., Zeng, S., Bottary, R., Kensinger, E. A., & Stickgold, R. (2026). Recovery sleep after total sleep deprivation preserves neutral and enhances emotional declarative memory. SLEEP Advances, 7(1), zpaf093.10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf093 

Dewald, J. F., Meijer, A. M., Oort, F. J., Kerkhof, G. A., & Bögels, S. M. (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep medicine reviews, 14(3), 179-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2009.10.004 

Garcia, G. L., Recio, A. B., Ilagan, M., Escueta, H. G., Morales, Z. D., & Torres, N. (2023). The relationship of sleep hours on the academic performance and classroom participation of senior high school students. Edukasiana J Educ Innov, 2, 222-36. 10.56916/ejip.v2i3.409 

Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and science of sleep, 73-84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907

Lin, C. T., Liang, S. F., & Shaw, F. Z. (2025). Better sleep is associated with higher academic performance from an actigraphy-based analysis of sleep consistency and grades in college students. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33775-0 

Lowe, C. J., Safati, A., & Hall, P. A. (2017). The neurocognitive consequences of sleep restriction: a meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 80, 586-604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.07.010

Seoane, H. A., Moschetto, L., Orliacq, F., Orliacq, J., Serrano, E., Cazenave, M. I., … & Perez-Lloret, S. (2020). Sleep disruption in medicine students and its relationship with impaired academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 53, 101333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101333

Wang, M., Chen, Z., Han, N., & Yao, H. (2025). Sleep duration and subject-specific academic performance among adolescents in China. npj Science of Learning, 10(1), 71. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-025-00361-y