The 8-Hour Challenge: Incentivizing Sleep during End-of-Term Assessments

Area of Science:

• Sleep science
• Higher education studies
• Behavioral interventions

Background:

• Student sleep deprivation is a significant issue, especially during high-stress periods like final exams.
• Undergraduate students, particularly those in demanding studio-based majors, often fall short of recommended sleep durations.
• Reduced sleep negatively impacts physical health, mental well-being, attention, and creativity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of an optional extra credit incentive in promoting healthy sleep durations among interior design students during their final project week.
• To compare the sleep duration and final project performance of incentivized students with a non-incentivized control group.

Main Methods:

• An optional extra credit sleep challenge was offered to interior design students, requiring an average of 8 hours of sleep per night for five nights before the final project deadline.
• Sleep duration was objectively monitored using wristband actigraphy devices for both the incentivized group (n=22) and a non-incentivized comparison group (n=22).
• Final project performance was assessed and compared between the two groups.

Main Results:

• The sleep challenge significantly increased the percentage of students achieving 8 hours (from 9% to 59%) and 7 hours (from 14% to 86%) of sleep per night.
• Participants in the sleep challenge slept an average of 98 minutes more per night than non-incentivized students.
• There was no significant difference in final project performance between students who participated in the sleep challenge and those who did not. Consistent sleep was associated with better performance.

Conclusions:

• An optional extra credit incentive can effectively improve sleep duration in undergraduate students during high-stress academic periods.
• Maintaining healthy sleep patterns during demanding academic deadlines does not compromise academic performance.
• Sleep interventions in higher education settings can be a viable strategy to support student well-being and academic success.